{"id":41734,"date":"2009-10-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-10-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/aim-ignite\/"},"modified":"2009-10-14T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-10-14T00:00:00","slug":"aim-ignite","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/aim-ignite\/","title":{"rendered":"Aim & Ignite"},"content":{"rendered":"

In terms of being a music fan, just about the worst thing you can hear is that your favorite band is calling it quits, but in February last year, that\u2019s the news I awoke to. The Format, consisting mainly of vocalist Nate Ruess and guitarist Sam Means, were no more \u2013 two years after releasing an album, Dog Problems<\/i>, that even after all that time was still a regular fixture in my CD player. Even now, barely a month goes by without a listen. That collection of twelve surprisingly uplifting indie pop gems, detailing the aftermath of a breakup and Ruess\u2019 broken heart, was certainly the high point in the band\u2019s career (despite the early demos being the reason they were dropped by Atlantic). And not only had the band hit their creative stride, they\u2019d also become one of the first acts to succeed while bypassing the traditional major label machine. According to their then-manager, they shifted 70,000 copies of Dog Problems<\/i>, largely thanks to word of mouth across the internet. Unlike recent Oasis developments, the split came as a shock.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But Ruess is too talented a songwriter to not be writing songs, and it was not a surprise when he announced a new project \u2013 a band (somewhat lamely) titled Fun., consisting of Nate, Andrew Dost (Anathello) and Jack Antonoff (Steel Train). The group began recording their debut album in September last year and, almost a year later, the result is finally here: Aim & Ignite<\/i>. And while it\u2019s clear this is the same strong voice and songwriting chops that brought us Dog Problems<\/i>, the showy arrangements have been ramped up, resulting in more than a few comparisons to Queen. There\u2019s been no shortcuts in putting together this epic: choirs, orchestras, horns, strings, handclaps, and female backing vocalists are all utilized at various points throughout a sonic rollercoaster ride that lasts a touch over 40 minutes.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Take the opening track, for example. For a song titled \u201cBe Calm,\u201d there\u2019s certainly a lot going on. Organ and violins provide backing as Ruess sets the tone for the record: \u201cI\u2019ve reclaimed the use of my imagination \/ For better or for worse I\u2019m yet to know,\u201d until the first chorus, when just guitar strums allow the vocals maximum impact. \u201cBe calm \/ Be calm \/ I know that you feel like you are breaking down,\u201d Ruess urges himself. But instead of keeping things simple, the song morphs into a manic duet with Anna Waronker, backed by what seems like countless instruments, all providing their own pretty melodic contributions. It could have so easily ended up as an overblown mess of noise \u2013 yet it doesn\u2019t. And that\u2019s the dangerous line Fun. straddle for much of their debut release, making it one of those albums you\u2019re either going to adore or hate.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Just as you\u2019ve finished digesting the opener, Ruess leads a choir in an a cappella rendition of the \u201cBenson Hedges\u201d chorus, a track that was originally destined to appear on the next Format release. \u201cHoly ghosts \/ Won\u2019t you come out to play \/ \u2018Cause if the Lord is gonna fine me \/ He\u2019d better start looking today,\u201d they belt out, not entirely unlike the choral intro to \u201cFat Bottomed Girls.\u201d In its earlier incarnation with The Format, it was performed with just acoustic backing, but the full blown Fun. arrangement and tempo boost is undoubtedly an improvement.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The hooks just keep coming. \u201cAll The Pretty Girls\u201d has to be one of the most addictive pop songs released this year, with a chorus that will take up residence in your brain for at least a month after listening. It\u2019s joyously happy, despite seemingly being another of Ruess\u2019 songs about pining over one girl in particular: \u201cI say \u2018I\u2019ve never heard the tune!\u2019 \/ But I have, I just hate the band because they remind me of you,\u201d he laments, before ending with the conclusion that \u201call the pretty girls can\u2019t measure to you.\u201d It\u2019s ostensibly another breakup tune, but you wouldn\u2019t know it thanks to the soaring string parts underneath.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But a breakup is certainly not the overriding focus of Aim & Ignite<\/i>; in fact, Ruess\u2019 lyrics this time around are for the most part optimistic. Gone is the clever cynicism of Dog Problems<\/i> \u2013 a move to New York and a change of band seems to have worked wonders. There\u2019s even a song title to support this theory: \u201cAt Least I\u2019m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be).\u201d<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Perhaps the only fault of this disc is that you can overdo too much of a good thing \u2013 and it does get a bit too sugary in parts. \u201cThe Gambler\u201d recounts the love story of Ruess\u2019 parents and perhaps the theater of the arrangements starts to influence the lyrics: \u201cI swear when I grow up \/ I won\u2019t just buy you a rose \/ I will buy you the flower shop \/ And you will never be lonely,\u201d he sings earnestly, as if treading the boards of Broadway. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

The jury is out as to whether Aim & Ignite<\/i> will have the lasting appeal of Dog Problems<\/i>, but it\u2019s tempting to suggest that Ruess\u2019 new band have not only equalled the quality of The Format\u2019s output in their prime, but may have even topped it. This record manages to be complex enough to be musically and lyrically interesting months after the first listen, while also boasting the amount of unforgettable hooks you\u2019d expect from a band titled Fun. After all, this album is likely to have you grinning so much, even the band name begins to make sense.<\/o:p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":30095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[8474],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-41734","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-fun","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41734"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=41734"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=41734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}