Photo: Courtesy of Lindsey Byrnes
Fox’s musical comedy Glee is infamous for producing lovable and friendly versions of top pop songs, from an entrancing male version of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” to a Spanglish Ricky Martin rendition of “Sexy and I Know It.” This made the decision to feature the practically unknown band fun.’s single “We Are Young” during an episode this season quite dubious.
A three-man American alternative pop band based in New York, fun. was created in 2008 by The Format’s frontman Nate Ruess. He curated his dream team for the project, which includes Andrew Dost from Anthallo and Jack Antohoff of Steel Train. Neither the band nor their single was especially popular, so its appearance alongside the likes of Janet Jackson and “I Will Survive” was odd. Perhaps it was due to the chorus that makes us feel a little more carefree through all the right clichés: “Tonight/We are young/So let’s set the world on fire/We can burn brighter/Than the sun.” Whatever the reason, fun. (“fun” without punctuation was already taken) deserves the attention it’s getting. “We Are Young” was featured in the Chevy Sonic Super Bowl commercial, shortly after which it soared to No. 1 on iTunes.
Described as breezy, theatrical and having a “Queen type of vibe,” fun.’s sophomore album Some Nights will be released on February 21. In following the footsteps of their 2009 debut album, Aim and Ignite, we can expect a set of catchy and upbeat songs with a little more of an epic and vibrant vibe.
Some Nights explores a variety of styles, all of which are worth listening to. From the tribal-sounding beats on the opening title track “Some Nights,” to reminiscing about Blink-182 elementary school days with the more punk rock “It Gets Better,” to wistful melodies in “Why I Am The One” – with Ruess crooning, “Darling if you love me would you let me know/Or go on go on go on” – fun. manages to capture a wide array of genres in a union of melodic genius and sweet lyricism. They manage to make even the most serious and disheartening lyrics sound uplifting in “One Foot,” pulling off the lines “I’ll put one foot in front of the other one/I don’t need a new love, or a new life/Just a better place to die” with all the flourish of a high school marching band accompaniment.
Want to see fun. live? Unfortunately, their only Illinois stop on their 2012 tour is sold out but this makes for a great opportunity to road trip over to Michigan in April to see the trio on stage.
