Fun - Some Nights Review

Around the time The Format was about to release their final record Dog Problems, lead man Nate Ruess wrote a very lengthy and impassioned blog about not succumbing to the pressures from the big labels to tweak his band’s music to sell more singles. It resulted in a fantastic middle finger salute towards the industry (“The Compromise”) and Ruess gained heaps of praise and respect for his integrity.

So maybe that’s why fans will be initially shocked by fun.’s second album (and Fueled by Ramen debut) Some Nights. But the more you listen to and dig into the album, the more you’ll realize that the manifesto that Ruess wrote nearly 6 years ago still rings true throughout. Ruess is still writing what he wants without any outside pressure, albeit this time it was something fans weren’t completely expecting.

While fun.’s debut album Aim & Ignite definitely flowed in the vein of previous Format releases, the tempo, vibe, and attitude on Some Nights is decidedly more ambitious. The boys of fun. (Ruess, Jack Antonoff and Andrew Dost) drew a lot of influence from notable hip-hop albums like Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Drake’s Take Care, two albums that perfectly fused emotion with extravagance. The result of these influences in combination with their previous indie-pop sound is what takes Some Nights to electrifying heights....full text Debut album Aim and Ignite made minor ripples in the States for NYC-based trio fun., but with behemoth single We Are Young leading the charge (the first rock song to top the Billboard 100 in almost four years, let alone clock up six weeks there), it’s pretty much a given that second album Some Nights will go several steps further.

The way We Are Young defies convention, playing with tempo and employing Janelle Monáe on backing vocals, insinuates the makings of a game-changer. And while the track remains Some Nights’ greatest offering, there’s plenty on this new set to snap at its heels.

It’s an immensely stylised record, the collaboration between fun. and hip hop producer Jeff Bhasker in full view throughout: striking, emotive, all-American radio-indie laced with tricky urban beats. With that as a foundation, the experiments come thick and fast....full text Indie pop band fun. is hitting their stride on their sophomore effort, Some Nights. The album features the band's anthemic hit single, "We Are Young (featuring Janelle Monáe)." The track has been featured on Glee and in an ad for Chevy Sonic, which was shown during Super Bowl XLVI.

The creative process for Some Nights began in Upstate New York at Woodstock. The band (Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost, and Jack Antonoff) stayed in a cabin/studio for a week, as they fleshed out song ideas for their latest endeavor.

"We all kind of go through the songs as a group, see what ideas we like, and kind of work through them altogether. But usually it starts with a sketch from Nate. Sometimes it starts with chords from Jack or I. But we all just get together, we throw our ideas together and see what sticks," Dost shared with me during our interview last month.

Upon realizing the influence that hip-hop was having on their music, the band recruited Jeff Bhasker (Kanye West) to work on the album with them....full text