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.
"It was really interesting," Dost said. "He's never worked with a rock band before, and we've, obviously, never worked with a hip-hop producer before, so [there were] a lot of mutually inspired moments."
The end result of the band's collaboration with Bhasker was a powerful mash-up of genres within well-crafted melodies that create quite the music experience.
The intro to Some Nights very much sets the tone for the musical escapade that the band's listening audience is embarking on, complete with a lush, theatrical arrangement and the insanely gifted vocal stylings of one Nate Ruess.
Article comments
1 - Phil
I will always cherish Aim & Ignite, because for some reason my kids loved it and we sang along to all the songs. A lot. Same goes with this anthemic sequel. It's good music, and kudos to you for not jumping on the typical critics' bandwagon (read: autotune). Thanks!
2 - Jeffrey Coleman (@TheMediaRunner)
I love their passion. And I love that they got Bhasker to collaborate with them on this.
It's just straight up good stuff : perfect for a Disney-loving generation.
3 - Molly
This album was fucking terrible, I don't know what you're going on about. I expected something FUN, akin to Aim & Ignite or previous Format releases, but instead what I got was this shit. Why would they have these awful off-beat drum machines? Why would they use a mechanize filter on Nate's gorgeous voice? Nope, I'll stick to listening to Dog Problems on repeat, thanks.
4 - JGH
Excellent review, but I totally disagree with Molly. It is getting old that every time Nate puts out an album, it is always compared infavorably to the previous release(s) by some. When Dog problems first came out, a ton of people said how much better interventions was and why would they change their sound. When Aim and Ignite first came out, all you heard from many is how much better Dog Problems was, and the Format should get back together. Now Some Nights comes out, and of course there is a chorus once again on how bad it is (by those who think nothing should ever change)and why would they not do another Aim and Ignite. I loved the Format, I loved Aim and Ignite, and I love this new album. So what, they used some auto tune and hip hop beats. Nate is the artist, it is his band, and he put out the record he wanted. I say good for him, he is finally getting recognized and rewarded financially for his work. The sales of We Are Young, and Some Nights will allow this band to thrive, and survive to make more music, and I for one cannot wait.
5 - Phil
Did Molly listen to something else ? Appreciate the music, thanks guys.......
6 - Joe
I'm with Molly on this one. The title track is one of the worst songs I've heard in recent years and I turn the radio off every time it plays. That travesty of auto-tuning and wanna-be-Queen could vanish forever and my life would be made all the better for it.