All quirky stylized names aside, New York-based indie rock band fun. remind us why we love music. They remind us why epic anthems can become so contagious, so all-consuming: at the end of the day, exquisite pop music makes us feel damn good. The group is made up of three musicians, all who had played in other bands for years — Nate Ruess (The Format), Jack Antonoff (Steel Train), Andrew Dost (Anathallo) — and while fun. do sound different from the aforementioned acts, they’ve hardly forgotten their roots. Fusing the high-caliber pop sensibilities of The Format, the unique songwriting of Steel Train and the technical sophistication of Anathallo, the trio is now more like a fierce reincarnated trifecta.
Some Nights, released via powerhouse Fueled By Ramen (Paramore, Gym Class Heroes, Fall Out Boy), is the follow-up to the band’s debut, 2009’s Aim and Ignite. It’s an album that’s overflowing with the kind of masterfully-conceived songs that start small, only to swell and burst into big moments and even bigger hooks — the kind that we wouldn’t mind dubbing "Song of the Year" even when it’s only March (I’m looking at you specifically, "We Are Young"). Overall, what seems to draws us to fun., is their innate ability to find the good, the joy, and (pardon the pun) the fun in making quality music.
A few weeks ago, Dost was kind of enough to talk to Glide about the band’s new found chemistry, the experience of collaborating with hip-hop producer Jeff Bhasker, and the uplifting themes of Some Nights.
Tell us a little bit about the title of the album Some Nights.
We actually had the album title before we even had a handful of the songs. It had been decided on for awhile. Nate came up with it as it happened to make its way into a few of the lyrics early on.
How did having the title in place affect the songwriting process for the rest of the record?
Once we knew we were going to call it Some Nights, it seemed to inform the way we wrote the rest of the songs. It helped to inform the sound and the way all the pieces of the puzzle that we were creating would come together in the end.
Does the album have a storyline that runs throughout all the songs?
It isn’t a concept album, but it does have a lot of songs centered around variations of one theme. Some Nights is about who you can be on any given night, who you can become or turn into through the course of your life. It’s about finding out who you are, but also about the fact that who you are one night, isn’t necessarily who you are another night.
What kind of changes has fun. gone through since Aim and Ignite’s release in 2009?
A lot has changed in terms of what we listen to, what we like, and just how we approach writing songs. Personally, with Aim and Ignite, I was eager to show off my composition chops and arrangement skills. This time around, we just wanted to make really good songs that were catchy, simple and had a great beat… and that requires a different skill entirely. With this album, it was more about finding out what these songs needed, what their essence was. Between the three of us, we kind of really honed in on that aspect of songwriting, rather than the debut’s approach of putting everything we knew into a kitchen sink.
It’s interesting you mention that seeing as you all come from different bands with different sounds. How has the chemistry evolved between the three of you?
Well, half of the writing on the first album was right as we were just getting to know each other. We were still learning how to collaborate and even communicate with one another. Even just the little things we had to get used to, like what Nate calls a measure, I call a phrase, and I’d always be like, "What! I don’t get that." Little intricacies like that. We had to figure out the footing of the first album.
For this one, we had already developed our own language and social workings with songwriting, which left us with more time to delve into the songs instead of worrying about all that "getting to know each other" stuff. It’s hard to write with soon you’ve never written with. Some Nights‘ process was much quicker and maybe with less ego than the last album. We just wanted to make the best possible songs.
The new album has a much tighter feeling to it. A more natural one, too.
It’s a new project, but we’ve been together awhile now. It feels like we’ve known each other our whole lives. I feel like there’s good chemistry. It also helps that we are total fans of one another, too.
You mentioned earlier that your taste in music has changed. What have you been listening to lately?
I’ve been listening to a lot of Drake and Kanye. I loved the last Big Boi album. I love the music that Rostam Batmanglij (of Vampire Weekend) has been putting out. I like stuff that’s a little more electronically-driven, beat-driven and not so much the Brit-pop stuff.
The producer of Some Nights is Jeff Bhasker, someone who is known for working with Jay-Z, Kanye, and other hip-hop artists. How did you guys get to team up with him?
Jeff is a genius. We reached out to him, and he and Nate met for a few drinks and really just hit it off. He came into the studios with us and we all hit it off. I can’t believe the things he can do, even as piano player. He’s just extremely, super, super talented.
As primarily a hip-hop producer, what did he bring to the fun. table?
He had a heavy hand in a lot of the beats and pulses of the new album. That’s something that I don’t do well on my own naturally. I don’t have much rhythm [laughs].
Some Nights is out via Fueled By Ramen. I pretty much grew up listening to that label! How have they been treating you?
Amazing. I’ve never really been on a label before, and to be on one that I’ve grown up listening to, one that I used to send all my old band demos to… it’s kind of surreal. Aside from the label’s history and roster, there are really interesting things happening now in the industry, and Fueled By Ramen has the best team. Everyone we work with, whether it’s merchandise, publicity or production, the people are so smart and so good. I feel like we are in the best hands. It’s class organization and I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it.
What would you say is your favorite song on Some Nights?
"Stars." It’s the final track on the album. It’s my favorite musical achievement of my life. It was not only a couple of moments of studio magic, but it’s the one where it’s kind of a perfect blend of everything I love about fun. It’s Nate going crazy with his once-in-a-generation voice, Jack with some awesome guitar moments, and the string parts that I did, which I’m really, really proud of. I just think it’s really cool.
