Fun. releases ‘Some Nights’ album
Three years after dropping their first album, “Aim and Ignite,” the New York-based indie pop band fun. released “Some Nights.”
fun. is a supergroup of sorts; lead vocalist Nate Ruess formed the band after the break-up of The Format, guitarist Jack Antonoff also serves as the frontman for Steel Train, and keyboardist Andrew Dost is from Anathallo.
Overall, “Some Nights” has a sound distinctly different from “Aim and Ignite.” The band experimented heavily with hip-hop inspired beats and auto-tune––though Ruess’s crystalline voice doesn’t need it.
The first single “We Are Young,” catapulted the band into the mainstream music scene after being featured on “Glee” and in numerous commercials. The song’s chorus, with a growling bassy electronic hum, makes it a great summer anthem.
The title track, “Some Nights,” opens with a masterful a capella vocal harmony giving a dramatic entrance to this energetic tune about self discovery. The drum beat pounds on like a march beneath driving vocals, providing a strong binding for an already solid song.
“Carry On,” mercifully strips down all the auto-tune and electric tones, leaving only Ruess’s voice and natural instrumentation to tell listeners to keep moving on through difficult times to the brighter times ahead.
The epitome of the new, experimental sound for the band can be found in “One Foot.” Although the brass section, performed by keyboardist Dost, repeats through the entire song and balances on the brink of monotony, it is saved by the song’s inherent energy and its promise of the old adage that sometimes just putting “one foot in front of the other one” is the best one can do.
“Stars,” which wraps up the standard version of the album, features references to other songs on the album, but one has to listen closely to catch this cunning feature. The song also has a good mix of old fun. sound and the more electronic sound they tried out on “Some Nights.”
Fun. releases 'Some Nights' album,
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