After their epic freshman album, Aim and Ignite, I expected more from fun.’s sophomore album. There was not a song I did not like on their first album, an album that literally had everything. Barlights brought the jam you could sway your body to, while Walking The Dog brought funky beats that provided the soundtrack to your life when walking from class to class. 

But Some Nights is filled with amateur mistakes that the music industry has too much of at this moment. It was disappointing to hear all the auto tuned voices and dubstep-like mixes that swirled across the tracks. Don’t even get me started on Stars, the single worst track on the CD. It’s a seven minutes track full of autotuned , eight-toooo-many-beats-in-one-song hell that I cannot listen to anymore. I could barely make it through the song the first time and doing it again is not at the top of my to-do list. Did not one tell them that the music industry already has seven minute autotuned songs that no one listens to? 

Their second single, One Foot, should have been a red flag to listeners. I’m not sure if they made the song with the intention of placing it in a move filled with gunshots and gangs (which is where it sounds like it should be) or if they were simply feeling ‘inspired,’ but the thirteen different types of beats they stuffed in their with echoed voices is not in any way amusing. In fact, in combination with the rest of their album, it really blends right into the horror. 

The four gems, of course, are easy to pinpoint: they’re the first tracks on the album. Some Nights Intro, Some Nights, Carry On, and We Are Young shine as reminders of fun.’s past greatness. 

When I first listened to Some Nights Intro, I heard the spirit of Aim and Ignite lurking throughout the song. It was original. The operatic-like voices filling the background provide a haunting affect that perfectly fits the lyrics. I love the selective echoes and the orchestra behind them. The contrast between the loud and the soft is truly chilling for this listener and I love that fun. started developing the voice that first appeared in Aim and Ignite into something more moving and filled with spirit. It is too bad the mood of the intro does not carry through to the rest of the tracks on the album. 

Some Nights is perhaps my favorite song on the record and a real gem of music. The beating of the drums brings me back to Walking The Dog (from their previous album) and takes it to the next level. The rhythmic beats echo on African tribal beats that make you want to jump up and dance. It’s an energizing song that starts the record off perfectly. It’s as if fun.’s spirit and originality never got lost with the rest of the tracks. 

We Are Young, their first single off the album, gave me an exquisite amount of hope for their new album. You couldn’t possibly pick a more addicting and perfect song that exploded faster than this song. I love the basic nature of the song - the piano and drums to start, a simple and recognizable rhythm that comforts. It draws focus on the universal lyrics before exploding into the chorus. I’m a sucker for harmonies, so the second I heard them, I was in love with the track. What really makes the song stick, though, is the mixture of contrasting rhythms that never quite meet each other at any one point. The track oozes variety and individuality. Plus, it’s just catchy as hell, as Holden Caufield would say. 

So while fun. has a few new gems on their new record, I’m not over the moon for this new album. While their intentions may have been to play on the popularity of the beats in Aim and Ignite, they went too far. No one likes an autotuned mess like a majority of this album - sadly - has turned out to be. Perhaps fun. is really just trying to get back on their feet and find their voice, experimenting in the mean time, and this is a product of that trial and error process.

Despite the few true gems on the album, a majority of it is not worth listening to in your free time. I had the highest hopes for fun., but better luck next time. 

I give this a: Yikes. 

Check out: Some Nights Intro, Some Nights, We Are Young

Overall Rating: 6/10