Album Review: fun. - Aim & Ignite

From the opening moments of fun.'s 'Aim & Ignite' the bands warmth and charm is nearly instant. Opener 'Be Calm' could be considered as a "victorian pop song"; strings and brass instruments play alongside the bands swooning vocals.

'All the Pretty Girls' sees the bands summery and vibrant style continue with Nate Ruess' vocals standing out, whilst the string arrangements complement him brilliantly. 'I Wanna Be the One' jogs along in a similar yet more laid back fashion.

'At Least I'm Not as Sad (As I Used to Be)' sounds bright with somewhat tounge-in-cheek opening; "Have you ever wondered about our old nu-metal friends and what became of them?", as horns burst in and out and Ruess is joined by Rachel Antonoff, who adds a sense romance to the tracks overall tone.

Whereas 'Walking The Dog' is a (slightly) more funkier fun. and isn't the albums strongest track. 'Barlights' sounds dated but strangely fits the bands style yet you're not surprised they pull it off so well; a soulful, passionate rock showered in brass and sweet vocal harmonies.

After much hype, I'll admit I expected more from 'Aim & Ignite'. Yes musically are impressive, if not astonishing and sure their songwriting should be given credit and on the whole the band know how to write pop songs wih a twist. However I felt it lacked consistency; I preferred the albums earlier tracks and by the time I reached 'Take Your Time (Coming Home)' I felt somewhat drained. Perhaps musically the band are at times over-ambitious.

Nevertheless for the UK release, we're given the 'Live At Fingerprints' as a bonus, which provides a more stripped down take on five of the ten tracks. This to an extent allows the bands lyrical strengths stand out more.

On the whole, 'Aim & Ignite' is a nice, light record that can easily draw you in but can equally lose your interest. I'd probably advise to ignore whatever hype you've heard about fun., and listen to it with an open mind.

3.5/5

'Aim & Ignite' by fun. is released in the UK on June 7th through Hassle Records and is available now in the US on Nettwerk.

fun. on MySpace and Twitter.

Official Website

Sean Reid