“Hey have
you heard this new song?” (puts on “We Are Young”)
“No what is
it?”
“It’s Fun!”
“Well I’d
say it’s rather slow and pretentious but I mean hey whatever floats your boat.”
“No dumbass,
the band’s name is FUN.”
An album cover with no band name? WHAT IS THIS!?
That’s pretty much how my introduction to this band went and
I have to say upon first listen I was rather unimpressed. I thought they’d be a
one hit wonder like Goyte and within
a few months I would not ever hear of them again. But, since I’m reviewing there
sophomore album “Some Nights,” it’s obvious that I was wrong in that observation
of the band. Way wrong. So, before we jump into the album review, as always, it’s
time for a little history lesson.
Before fun, lead vocalist Nate Ruess formed the band The Format back in 2001 and had his
first break into the world of fame with the album “Dog Problems.” Sadly, for
unknown reasons, the band decided they would not be coming back together to
make another album and quickly disbanded. It was in this time that Nate started
talking to Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff about forming a new band in New
Jersey. Eventually in August of 2009 the band Fun(.) released their first album “Aim and Ignite” to a pretty
positive response from a majority of critics. In 2011, Nate Reuss approached
Jeff Bhasker about producing the album as the band wanted to work in a hip-hop
flair to their sound. Though preoccupied at first eventually Jeff met up with
Nate and the two went back to his studio where he heard a rough belting of “We
Are Young.” He told Nate to come back the next day with his band and they would
start the recording process. Some Nights was released on February 21, 2012 which
receives mixed to positive reviews by critics. Which is nice but how does the
D3C0D3R feel about this behemoth of an album?
Well not to spoil anything too soon but I love this album and
it not only one of my top favorite albums of 2012 but it is sitting up there
with the few of my favorite albums of all time. For those of you that wanted to
know my overview of the album, there you go, check out the buy it, hear it and
trash it section. For everyone else let’s dive in to what makes the album magnificent.
To start, you could not believe my surprise when this album
started off with a very nice intro song simply entitled: Some Nights(intro).
This song is very queen-esque from its backing vocals to the ensemble of
strings in the background slowly gaining momentum before finally ending with a
huge belting note from Nate Reuss that is rather impressive. Though the
applause can seem rather tongue in cheek.
"I don't care if the songs slows down, I'm gonna scream at you!"
The next three songs are all the oldest singles on the album;
“We Are Young,” “Some Nights,” and “Carry On.” While I wasn’t instantly won
over by “We Are Young” I am happy it gave them a foot in the door for them to
release their better singles. “Some Nights” can be summed in on sentence
already said by a critic, “This is how pop music should sound…” This song has
everything from the pulse pounding beginning all the ways to the eccentric
vocal auto-tune solo. “Carry On” is one of my favorite songs on the album as it’s
just an upbeat song about leaving everything bad behind to go on to bigger and
better things.
Sadly, the album is followed by arguably the worst song on
the album “It Gets Better.” If the jarring electronic drums don’t get you to
press next than it will be the odd vocal effect they put on Nate’s voice.
Thankfully, this song does get better as it starts to pick up though sadly
coming after 3 solid songs in a row it does come off as the weakest.
From there the album does a great job of creating of flow
through its album taking the listener on a journey through the band’s inner
thoughts throughout the past few years since “Aim and Ignite.” Major accolades
should be given to Nate Reuss and Jeff Bhasker, the former, who puts his heart
into every one of these songs and really leaving his soul there for all to see.
If you want a great representation of this go check out the songs “Stars” and “Out
On The Town” that really showcase just how much his life seems to have changed
since even the inception of Fun(.). Jeff Bhasker of course really make this
album amazing with every instrument fitting perfectly where it needs to, a
variety of effects that shows just what pop music is capable of, and a really
nice sense of rising action in all of the songs.
I could gush about this album all day and sadly for most of
my close friends, they’ve already heard me go on and on about just how great
this album is so if you have not heard this album yet, run to your nearest
store (or Amazon) and get it as it’s a true marvel in indie rock/pop music.
As always please like, share and comment below!
Buy it!: Some Nights, We Are Young, Carry On, Why Am I The One, All Alright, Stars, Out On The Town
Hear it!: Some Nights(intro), All Alone, One Foot,
Trash it!: It Gets Better
*As with all things the opinions expressed our purely that of the author and should be taken as such.
** All images, music, and information used are for entertainment purposes. No copyright infringement intended.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Nights , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fun_%28band%29
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