Greetings in Braille

It's really quite impressive that Subpop has developed into an excellent label. I'm sure there are legions of indie rock writers who would site other cooler labels before Sub Pop, but really Sub Pop is a model. Many wrote the boys and girls in Seattle off after the bottom began to fall out of the flannel movement. But to their credit they have kept releasing impressive records by a variety of bands that produce music as diverse as Iron & Wine and Wolfeyes (and that's quite a frickin' difference).

Earlier this year Sub Pop released a very good record by a band called The Elected. It largely went unnoticed despite some excellent critical reviews (including an 8.0 from those over-intellectualizers of pop at Pitchfork). It really should be heard by more people. The Elected is a side project by Blake Sennet guitarist for Rilo Kiley. He's assisted by some of the folks from Rilo as well as the singer from Azure Ray. The whole mess is produced by Mike Mogis who's done great work with Broken Spindles, Rilo Kiley and Bright Eyes. Sennet uses very Elliott Smith like breathy vocals over a mixture of real drums, stuttering drum machines, ringing guitars and everything from harmonica to timpani. It's a very good record that has gotten lost in the shuffle most likely because it's merely a "side" project and there has been in the interim lots of buzz about Rilo Kiley. Check it out. Buy

Greetings In Braille