No “Sun, Sun, Sun” in this forecast
- The Elected - Sun, Sun, Sun
- Release Date: 01/24/2006
- Rilo Kiley side project's boring sophomore release borders on the level of elevator music.
The Elected’s sophomore effort Sun, Sun, Sun can be summed up in one very appropriate, very condemning word: nice.
Yes, that’s nice, as in: “My mom came up to visit me last weekend and we had a nice time.” Or: “Yeah, those Venetian blinds sure would add a nice touch to the guest bedroom.”
Or even still, when a prospective love interest tells you: “You’re a really nice person.” (Ok, you get the point.)
Inevitably, however, that damning word in the final example is almost always followed by a but, foreshadowing a more ominous meaning, which leads me to this review.
Because nothing seems to stand out as sensational on Sun, Sun, Sun, and given the collective talents of singer/songwriter Blake Sennett and Co., The Elected have managed to create a nice record, but one that’s wholly undistinguished and forgettable that, at its best, is nothing more than a collection of mildly sunshiny soft rock and pop better served in an elevator than on radio.
Sure, there’s some accomplished and skillful musical arrangements and writing unfurling here – like in the snappy, heartfelt “Would You Come With Me,” or on the sweet and soulful title track – but it’s not enough to overcome the inexplicable stretches of boredom that ensue during this album. Banjos, horns, piano and heaps of acoustic guitar radiate throughout the recording, but they’re barely effective enough to differentiate one track from the next, meshing together each song as if it was one gigantic indecipherable ditty.
Aside from the two aforementioned tracks and maybe “Not Coming Home,” I was compelled long before the other songs’ fade-outs to fast-forward to the next, yawning my way through the perenially mundane.
Sennett – the brainchild behind the band Rilo Kiley, a musician with an indefatigable work ethic – seems a charming and convivial enough chap, adroit at crafting fairly passionate tunes, but I just didn’t connect with this album, and that’s not for a lack of trying. Several listens later and months after I first heard Sun, Sun, Sun, it remains just a rather average CD that I’m still convinced is nothing more than nice background music for when mothers drop by for a visit.
April 25th, 2006 at 10:23 am
Dreary… I can see where you draw your opinions, most critics seem to agree with you.
I personally am not a Rilo Kiley fan (although their current single on my fave XM station, Ethel, is growing on me and perhaps my opinion will change)… but I foudn this CD pretty good at first, as I listend a few more times, it bored me a bit.
Certain tracks are great, but all in all I think 2-3 stars is pretty accurate.
Sennett is obviosuly capable of more, for instance, just watch Boy Meets World reruns!
April 26th, 2006 at 7:57 am
I’m going to have to give this one a listen. I’ll probably agree with you, but I’m tempted to hear for myself. I don’t have anything against Rilo Kiley either, but I’d probably describe their music as “pleasantly unoffensive.” I don’t dislike it, but at the same time, I’m never in a hurry to hear it again. Sounds like this is more of that.