Biography
Following the October 2002 appearance of Rilo Kiley’s The Execution of All Things, co-founders Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett paused the group to pursue separate endeavors. Lewis contributed vocals to the Postal Service and joined the road support for that project’s gold-certified Give Up, while Sennett assembled the Elected alongside guitarist Mike Bloom, former Ozma bassist Daniel Brummel, and Rilo Kiley drummer Jason Boesel. The new quartet adopted a twang-inflected indie-rock approach aimed at both alt-country listeners and existing Rilo Kiley audiences, leading Sub Pop to sign the band and issue its first album in the first months of 2004. In contrast to Rilo Kiley’s prior releases—jointly composed by Sennett and Lewis yet centered on Lewis’s vocals—Me First placed Sennett in the lead-singer position.
After Rilo Kiley’s More Adventurous entered the catalog two years later, Sennett returned to the Elected. The resulting Sun, Sun, Sun surfaced on Sub Pop in 2006 as a set of summery pop-rock tracks colored by West Coast atmospheres. That same year Lewis issued her debut solo album, and Rilo Kiley delivered its sole major-label effort, 2007’s Under the Blacklight, before entering an extended hiatus. During the break Sennett stepped away from music to concentrate on filmmaking. While drafting a screenplay for a short film, he accepted an unplanned studio session proposed by engineer Jason Cupp, who had previously mixed Sun, Sun, Sun. The session produced several new compositions, prompting Sennett to revive the Elected, revise its roster, move to Vagrant Records, and deliver the group’s third album, 2011’s Bury Me in My Rings.
After Rilo Kiley’s More Adventurous entered the catalog two years later, Sennett returned to the Elected. The resulting Sun, Sun, Sun surfaced on Sub Pop in 2006 as a set of summery pop-rock tracks colored by West Coast atmospheres. That same year Lewis issued her debut solo album, and Rilo Kiley delivered its sole major-label effort, 2007’s Under the Blacklight, before entering an extended hiatus. During the break Sennett stepped away from music to concentrate on filmmaking. While drafting a screenplay for a short film, he accepted an unplanned studio session proposed by engineer Jason Cupp, who had previously mixed Sun, Sun, Sun. The session produced several new compositions, prompting Sennett to revive the Elected, revise its roster, move to Vagrant Records, and deliver the group’s third album, 2011’s Bury Me in My Rings.
Albums
