Review of Fun.'s New Album "Some Nights"

Hey,

Last spring, I discovered fun.when they did collabed with Panic! At the Disco (a collab made in punctuation heaven) which I first hated and then loved. I liked their first album, loved We Are Young before it was popular, and am enjoying several tracks off their newest album. Now, I will be honest, this is not the best album I've ever heard--ouch!--but I do like it. Don't ask me to explain how that translates into liking the album...it's complicated. :) But, as I was listening to this album, I came to the difficult conclusion that I am officially a stupid hipster. yes, as I listened two thoughts swirled around in my head 1) I liked their old stuff better and 2) I liked them before they were popular. Oh, how ironic! Last year, I complained about dumb hipsters. Anyways...

1. Some Nights Intro: thumbs up Review: gentle piano intro, lead vocals are soft but gradually crescendo, filled with emotion, loving the strings, but not big on the screaming opera vocals, kind of musical-theater-ish, and a little scary.

2. Some Nights: thumbs up Review: filled vocals (not a big fan but it works), liking the oh-whoa's in the background, drum-line gets my approval, guitar feels like a third wheel here, the lyrics are very confusing, and I do not like the auto-tune. (I want to make my 1st hipster comment so badly!!!)

3. We Are Young: thumbs up Review: radio-ready, strong lyrics, they picked a fantastic artist to collaborate with, and a powerful chorus

4. Carry On: thumbs up Review: Nice simple lead-in with the vocals and guitar, feeling kind of a Scottish-like vibe with the addition of the rest of the instruments, and heavy lyrics. Rather forgettable but nice, nonetheless.

5. It Gets Better: thumbs down. Review: Auto-tune! AAAH! What happened to Fun.? (That looks so funny...) Oh, the hipster in me is dying right now! This does not sound like Fun.! I am slightly confused. Why are they talking about golden eggs and fingernails? Despite the unnecessary autotune, this song is catchy.

6. Why Am I the One? thumbs up: Review: pretty guitar line to begin, story-telling lyrics, I'm feeling OneRepublic here, cool tempo change, and beautiful harmony

7. All Alone: Thumbs up.  Easily my fav track! Review: love the intro line though I am thoroughly confused by it "I fell in love with a wind-up souvenir." Excuse me?  Anyways, solid beat, relatble lyrics, cool throwback track, in my mind. If all of the songs were like this, they would all get major thumbs up. :) I love this!

8. All Alright: Thumbs down. Review: I think we've heard this same drum pattern before, minimalist track, they should be playing his voice up more, catchy, repetitive chorus, and boring repetition...repetitious.

9. One Foot: Thumbs down.  Review: I remember playing a song in band very similar to this, the horn section is nice, but not a big fan of how up-and-down this song is.

10. Stars: Thumb in the middle.  Review: beautiful string section but auto-tune! Argh. The vocals match the emotional lyrics, but at times, I find they sound more like they're screaming than singing. Calm down. It's okay, boys. I almost like this song, so I'll give it a thumb that's kind of in the middle. It goes both ways. I like it and I don't at the same time. Fun. saved themselves with the strings.

11. Out on The Town: Thumbs up. Review: These guys mention their parents a lot (I guess that's nice. I'm not sure if they're saying totally nice things, but I'm sure they're nicer than Brendon's thoughts about his mommy), solid track, the chorus fits in perfectly, and I like how he's thinking out loud on this song. (What have I done? There's no one to keep me warm.) I love it.

12. We Are Young (bonus track): Thumbs up. Review: Ditto for what I said on track 3, but I am thoroughly impressed with this acoustic cover. Two thumbs up, not just one.

Conclusion: These guys are here to stay, I think. They have a unique sound and unless they add in more auto-tune on their songs, they have a new fan here. :)

Until next week,
Bella