Videos

fun. – The Gambler (acoustic)

• 18th May 2010

New York based three-piece fun. are set to release their debut album ‘Aim & Ignite’ through Hassle Records on June 7th with exclusive bonus content. The album will be preceded by the single All the Pretty Girls on May 31st.

Following the band’s week of sold out debut London shows in March, fun. are set to return to our shores to spread their Ben Folds, Shins and Polyphonic Spree reminiscent, uplifting musical vibes across the UK this week. Due to some unforeseen scheduling circumstances fun. have had to move their 25th May London King's College show, to Islington Academy on Wednesday May 26th.

fun. is what happens when three extraordinarily talented musicians come together to create something altogether new and wonderful. Nate Ruess, late of The Format, has teamed up with multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff (Steel Train), resulting in their ingenious debut, Aim And Ignite. The trio melds an array of diverse inspirations – spanning Broadway to The Beach Boys, “Nilsson Schmilsson’ to “Pinkerton” – into an irresistible collection of freewheeling pop songcraft.

With ‘Aim & Ignite’, fun have crafted a contemporary rethinking of classic 70s pop, where ornate arrangements and inspired orchestrations meet present-day rock ‘n’ roll. Take, for example, At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be), which suggests the heretofore unimagined sound of a Caribbean Queen, with Ruess belting extravagantly over a backdrop of festive horns and steel drums. Barlights – arranged by longtime Ruess fave Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (Jellyfish, Imperial Drag, Moog Cookbook) – is brash and brassy blue-eyed soul, while Dost’s Light A Roman Candle With Me is rollicking and Randy Newman-esque.

Songs like the album-opening Be Calm meld finely wrought chamber-pop orchestrations – all brass and strings and multi-tracked harmonies – with guitar-fueled rock ‘n’ roll, and tracks like Benson Hedges and single All The Pretty Girls are fit to burst with richly prolix lyricism and intricate melodic twists and turns, which provide plenty of room for Ruess’ distinctive vocals to soar.

MAY

Fri 21st Liverpool, Shipping Forecast / Sound City
Sat 22nd Glasgow, Stag and Dagger
Sun 23rd Leeds, Cockpit 2
Mon 24th Brighton, Prince Albert
Weds 26th London, Islington Academy
Thu 27th Kingston, New Slang
Sat 29th Bristol Academy / Dot to Dot
Sun 30th Nottingham Rock City / Dot to Dot
Mon 31st Manchester Academy / Dot to Dot