Some Nights

by Fun.

Overview

Fun.'s debut album Aim and Ignite was an interesting blend of seemingly divergent styles topped by a healthy dose of grandiose ambition and performed with a precise abandon. The trio made an album that was truly progressive and also super catchy and fun. The follow-up, Some Nights, ramps up the ambition and sonic bombast, but also manages to be even more powerful and impressive. While writing and planning the album, singer Nate Ruess, guitarist Jack Antonoff, and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost were heavily influenced by both the sound and scope of Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and made every attempt to achieve something similar, even to the point of hiring that album's co-producer Jeff Bhasker to produce and craft beats for them. (Also Emile Haynie, who has worked with Eminem among others) Though the album has more of a hip-hop influence than Aim and Ignite did, there are still large doses of Queen and ELO coursing through the band's blood, both in the machine-crafted vocal harmonies and the ornate bigness of the sound. The album is overloaded with strings and horns, backing vocals, keyboards, and programmed drums surrounding Ruess like a clamoring crowd, but never drowning out his innately sincere vocals and painfully honest lyrics. He has the kind of voice that could cut through any amount of noise, not by using volume but honesty. Even when he's fed through Auto-Tune, you know he's telling you the truth all the time. On songs like the lead single "We Are Young" or the rollicking "All Alone," he provides a very human core that grounds things even as the music builds to ornate crescendos. Indeed, the album is really, really big sounding and could easily have ended up collapsing under its own weight and pretension, but the opposite happens and Some Nights takes flight instead. The songs are both anthemic and human-sized, the heartfelt words and naked emotions are never buried, and the music is uplifting, not overpowering. The trio has crafted a record that measures up to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy musically and delivers enough emotional charge to power a small town for a month. It's an impressive achievement and Fun. deserves every bit of acclaim that comes its way because of it. ~ Tim Sendra

Product Details

Release Date:	02/26/2021
Label:	Fueled By Ramen Records
UPC:	0075678645587

Tracks

1. Some Nights (Intro)
2. Some Nights
3. We Are Young
4. Carry On
5. It Gets Better
6. Why Am I the One
7. All Alone
8. All Alright
9. One Foot
10. Stars
11. Out on the Town

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Fun.   Primary Artist
Nate Reuss   Primary Artist
Jack Antonoff   Primary Artist,Guitar
Janelle Monae   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Andrew Dost   Primary Artist,Horn,Vocals
The Wired Strings   Primary Artist
Nate Ruess   Primary Artist,Vocals
Emile Haynie   Primary Artist,Drums,Piano,Keyboards
Trevor Mires   Trombone
Emma Owens   Viola
Natalia Bonner   Violin
Larry Gold   Strings,String Conductor
Olga Konopelsky   Violin
Jeff Bhasker   Piano,Keyboards,Synthesizer,Guitar (Bass),Vocals (Background)
Sally Jackson   Violin
Emma Kummrow   Violin
Lucy Shaw   Double Bass
Luigi Mazzocchi   Violin
Kieran Kiely   Accordion
Jake One   Drums,Keyboards
Jane Oliver   Cello
Mark Frost   Trombone
Michelle Bishop   Violin
Eliza Cho   Violin
James J. Cooper III   Cello
Joi Starr   Vocals (Background)
Richard Bissell   French Horn
Tyler Johnson   Sampling
Rosie Danvers   Cello
Tom Kraines   Cello
Richard Ashton   French Horn
Thomas Kraines   Cello
The West Los Angeles Children's Choir   Choir/Chorus
Jenny Sacha   Violin
Genevieve Thomas   Choir/Chorus
Davis Barnett   Viola
Charles Parker   Violin
James Cooper   Cello
Jonathan Kim   Viola
Stephanie Cavey   Violin
Natalie Cavey   Viola
Chloe Vincent   Flute
Aude Cardona   Vocals
Alexandra Lilly   Choir/Chorus
Anabela Caiola   Choir/Chorus
Antonia Gialamas   Choir/Chorus
Claire DiLorenzo   Choir/Chorus
Corinne Bailey   French Horn
Denise Di Pasca   Choir/Chorus
Lola Rockwell   Choir/Chorus
Miranda Wollen   Choir/Chorus
Elise Lichtman   Choir/Chorus
Friends After Three Choir   Vocals (Background)
Joanna Pickett   Choir Director,Vocal Director
Kathleen Stepan-Jackson   Choir/Chorus
Nara Cowing   Choir/Chorus
Nate Harold   Bass
Olga Konoplesky   Violin
Olivia Vreeland   Choir/Chorus
Pat Hartley   Trombone
Sofia Bagdade   Choir/Chorus
Sofia Garcia-Pena   Choir/Chorus
Sophia Buten   Choir/Chorus
Sydney Goldstein   Choir/Chorus
Vanessa Pasquarelli   Choir/Chorus
Will Noon   Drums
Barbara Klaskin Silberg   Director
Boyce Buchanan   Choir/Chorus
Finn Snyder   Choir/Chorus
Lowell Novitch   Choir/Chorus
Skylar Saltzmann   Choir/Chorus
Janet Yang   Choir/Chorus
Ky Lee Abrams   Choir/Chorus
Renata Robins   Choir/Chorus
Marley Mulvihill   Choir/Chorus

Technical Credits

Chris Gehringer   Mastering
Larry Gold   String Arrangements
Jeff Chestek   Engineer
Stuart White   Engineer,Mixing Engineer,Mixing Assistant
Jeff Bhasker   Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Orchestration,Drum Programming
Tommy D   Producer
Montez Roberts   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Manny Marroquin   Mixing
Noah Goldstein   Engineer
Jake One   Producer
Rich Costey   Mixing
Pat Reynolds   Programming,Drum Programming
Andrew Dawson   Engineer
Erik Madrid   Assistant,Mixing Engineer,Mixing Assistant
Chris Galland   Assistant,Mixing Engineer,Mixing Assistant
Andrew Dost   Design,Art Direction
John Janick   Executive Producer
Tyler Johnson   Musician
Rosie Danvers   Orchestration
Pawel Sek   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
David J. Harrigan III   Design,Art Direction
Lindsey Byrnes   Photography
Fun.   Arranger,Composer
Emile Haynie   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Drum Programming
Nacho Alegre   Cover Photo
Jacob Dutton   Composer
Pete Bischoff   Engineer
Sonny Pinnar   Engineer
TommyD   Orchestra Production