A year-and-a-half in the making, the much-anticipated Some Nights hit shelves and the iTunes store Tuesday. Fun. fans everywhere were more than ready.

This new album from the boys of fun. – Nate Ruess, Jack
Antonoff and Andrew Dost – has been generating buzz since the band’s first single “We
Are Young” featuring Janelle Mon?e circulated around the media after
its release in September. It has been
heard in primetime television advertisements, on various radio channels across
the country and has even been covered by the cast of “Glee.” “We Are Young” currently holds the number four spot on iTunes top singles and tops the
list in the alternative category. This
is just a sample of what Some Nights
has in store.

Fun. has experienced some changes in the year-and-a-half since the release of its first album, Aim & Ignite. The band has since signed with Fueled By Ramen Records, and the new influences can be heard in Some Nights. Fun. also enlisted the help of Jeff Bhasker,
who has worked with Jay-Z, Kanye West, Drake and Beyonce, and reached out to Emile
Haynie, whose client list includes Lana Del Rey, Kid Cudi, The Roots and Lil
Wayne. The combination of Bhasker and
Haynie’s expertise and fun.’s style combine perfectly to create a more edgy
sound without sacrificing the poetic lyrics that fun. fans have come to love.

The growth of the band and the input from Fueled By Ramen,
Bhasker and Haynie can be heard in some of the more electronic-influenced features of
fun.’s new songs. Auto-tuning and some
electronic instrumental help are in play, both of which are departures from fun.’s
first album.

Some Nights ignites
with the title song, an anthemic ballad with strong vocals and prominent
drums. Another album highlight is “It Gets Better,” an upbeat and fast-paced song with a somewhat
techno style. Both are
incredibly energetic and create a nice contrast with softer songs on the
album, like “Carry On.”

But not all of Some Nights is new territory for
fun. Much like “Carry On,” many offerings are reminiscent of the original sound that made fans first take notice – “All Alright” and “All Alone” are prime examples of this. Heartfelt lyrics sung by Ruess combined with an array of instruments
played by Dost and solid guitar by Antonoff are all carried into this sophomore
album.

Overall, this album shows the beautiful music
making that a year-and-a-half of hard work can bring. Some Nights will not let fun.’s fans down and will surely spark the interest of new listeners. From the first second of “Some Nights Intro”
to the very end of the bonus track “Out on the Town,” the pure talent of fun.
shines through. While previous songs have been fairly standard pop, Some Nights proves that fun. cannot be confined to one category, as songs range from classic fun. ballads to stronger, edgier rock anthems. The variety in song
styles allows for a diverse range of emotion that comes together very well
in the final product.

4 stars out of 5