Fun – Aim and Ignite
  1. Fun
  2. Aim and Ignite
  3. Netwerk Music Group
  4. myspace.com/fun

Fun – Aim and Ignite

“Please don’t go so soon!” cried the indie-rock world in unison. The Format had broken up after just two records. It was tragic, but soon word spread that vocalist Nate Ruess had a new band. This band, comprised of Ruess, multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost (ex-Anathallo), and guitarist Jack Antonoff (Steel Train), was to be called Fun. With an almost super-group kind of line-up, fans should have known to stop expecting this to be a simple continuation of The Format. Rather, Fun takes elements of each of these artists’ talents and combines them into one of the best records of 2009.

Looking at that list of names, one might correctly guess the style of Aim and Ignite to be a blend of indie-rock with straight up rock and roll. But this description is far from complete. Ruess and Dost’s penchants for showtunes shine through on every song, combining with unique vocal harmonies to create what is, without much exaggeration, today’s A Night at the Opera. Some of the vocal effects on “At Least I’m Not as Sad (As I Used to Be)” make it obvious that Fun has been influenced by Queen, although other elements reach out to honor everything from alternative rock to pure pop music. The song structures are always innovative, moving in unexpected directions and making the best use of Ruess’s strong and versatile tenor. A gospel-sounding choir joins the horns and strings to make this piano and electric guitar based sound truly eclectic, providing concert-goers with a constant sing-a-long throughout every song.

Highlights include the aforementioned song which features a grooving bass and catchy chorus. The song starts by singing about running into some old friends and turns into a lament of “I don’t keep friends, I keep acquainted.” The song ends with painful honesty, sung tongue-in-cheek over such a happy sound: “I’m not a prophet, but I’m here to profit. That’s all. I’m gone. That’s my life. Nothing is sacred. I don’t fall in love, I just fake it. I don’t fall in love, I don’t fall in love.”

This sort of examination of personal flaws continues through much of the record. “All the Pretty Girls” is an incredibly up-beat song that sings of an inability to get over a lost love, with a chorus that cries, “Oh c’mon, what’s a boy to do, when all the pretty girls can’t measure to you?”

The sound of this record is easily influenced by the greats of rock and roll like Queen or The Beatles, particularly the sort of stuff out of the 70s, but it is also intensely modern, at least on the forefront of today’s music if not ahead of its time. This point is well illustrated by “Walking the Dog,” which has so much energy it’s ready to explode. The main riff of the song is a spikey guitar with electronically-distorted bass and clattering drums. The vocals are all over the place, telling the story just by how parts are being sung.

The album ends with two of its most personal songs. The first is “The Gambler,” a slow love song written from the perspective of his father to his mother, which is sung by Nate as a tribute to his parents. It begins with only vocals and piano, adding strings on the second verse and taking prominence over the piano as Ruess sings, “I swear when I grow up, I won’t just buy you a rose. I will buy the flower shop, and you will never be lonely.” The song tells his parents’ life story, and the piano takes focus again until the next emotional part that tells of “When the doctors tried to take you away.” This sections moves forward with the addition of horns, and ends on a powerfully romantic note, showing the beauty of life-long love, especially considering how much of an effect it must have had on their children for Nate to write this song about it.

The final song, “Take Your Time (Coming Home),” starts out strong and somehow continues to build the energy all the way to the end. It gives a glimpse into the messy break-up of The Format and Ruess grappling with his identity outside of this band. He sings openly, “See, of everyone who called, very few said, ‘We believe in you.’ The overwhelming choice said I’m just a boy inside a voice. And if that’s true, is it true, if it’s true, then what the f*ck have I been doing the last six years? How did I end up here? How did I find love and conquer all of my fears? See, I made it out. Out from under the sun. And the truth is that I feel better because I’ve forgiven everyone.” The chorus encourages the listener to equally forgive everyone, and the end is an intense combination of guitar solos and vocal outbursts that usually only culminate like this in a live setting.

People of faith may find issue with “Benson Hedges,” the chorus of which sings, “Holy Ghost, when do you come out to play? Cause if the Lord is gonna find me, he better start looking today.” That alone could just as easily be sung by a modern day King David who is in agonizing search for God’s presence, but the later line, “I don’t care to be forgiven, when Lord I only want to be forgotten!” is a bit more difficult to accept.

While it may not be the best band name out there, Fun is certainly a fitting title for this music. Aim and Ignite is probably the poppiest thing I’ve bought in years, yet it is so innovative and eclectic that it is far from embarrassing. The rock and roll guitar work of Antonoff adds the right amount of muscle to Ruess’s signature vocals and Dost’s use of everything from glockenspiel to the flugelhorn. It may be fun, and it may sound alternately like a showtune or gospel choir, but it is not for the wimpy. The lyrics are passionate and raw, showing a man who has dealt with the struggles of life and continues to search for meaning in all of it. On the first verse of “Be Calm,” Ruess sings, “I’ve reclaimed the use of my imagination, for better or worse, I’ve yet to know.” Thus far, I think it’s safe to say it was for the better.

10/10