''Aim and Ignite'' is the debut studio album by American

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

band Fun. It was recorded at Appletree Studios.

Background

On February 4, 2008,

The Format The Format is an American indie rock band formed by Nate Ruess and Sam Means. Their style can be considered a mixture of indie, alternative, punk and folk music, with elements of 1960s and 1970s pop music. Though Means and Ruess are the foremos ...

broke up. Soon after, vocalist

Nate Ruess Nate Ruess is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the founder and lead singer of the indie pop band Fun, and of The Format. As of 2015, he also performs as a solo musician. Early life Ruess was born the second child of Larry ...

had called up

Jack Antonoff Jack Michael Antonoff (born March 31, 1984) is an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. Antonoff is the lead singer of rock band Bleachers, and is the guitarist and drummer in the pop rock band Fun. He was p ...

, from the band

Steel Train Steel Train was an indie rock band from New Jersey. They have toured with The Juliana Theory, Tegan and Sara, Girl in a Coma, Ben Folds, The Fray, Silversun Pickups, Hanson, The Format, Gomez, O.A.R., Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequ ...

and

Andrew Dost Andrew Paul Dost (born April 10, 1983) is an American musician, singer and is member of the indie rock band Fun., in which he plays several instruments, mainly the piano. He was formerly a member of the indie rock band Anathallo from 2003 to 2 ...

Anathallo Anathallo was a band originally from Mt. Pleasant, Michigan and then based in Chicago, Illinois. The band started practicing in the fall of 2000 and played their first show soon afterward. Their name is derived from a Greek word meaning "to renew ...

, They created the band Fun. and headed into the studio with producer

Steven Shane McDonald Steven Shane "Steve" McDonald (born May 24, 1967) is an American rock musician, best known as the bass guitarist in the Los Angeles alternative rock/power pop band Redd Kross. He is a founding member of the hardcore punk band Off! – serving ...

Composition

The album was described as "what a pop album should sound like" and "the most essential pop album of 2009" by AbsolutePunk. AllMusic compared the trio to

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and the

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical ...

. It was said "it used previous Format tricks like using bright horns and sophisticated harmonies".

Release

On April 20, 2009, it was revealed that fans could download "At Least I'm Not as Sad (As I Used to Be)" for free upon signing up with the band's mailing list. In addition, it was mentioned that the band's debut album would be released in August. Between late April and early June, the band supported

Manchester Orchestra Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta formed in 2004. The group is composed of rhythm guitarist-singer-songwriter Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, bassist Andy Prince and drummer Tim Very. Former drummer Je ...

on their headlining tour of the US. On May 19, ''Aim and Ignite'' was announced for release in August. In addition, the album's track listing was revealed. In August, the band went on a tour of the US with

Hellogoodbye Hellogoodbye (sometimes styled as hellogoodbye) is an American pop rock band that was formed in Huntington Beach, California in 2001 by singer Forrest Kline. They were signed to Drive-Thru Records and released their first full-length album '' Z ...

Limbeck Limbeck is an American rock band that formed in Laguna Niguel, California in 1999. The group featured Robb MacLean on lead vocals and guitar, Patrick Carrie guitar and backing vocals, Justin Entsminger on bass, and Jon Phillip, who replaced Matth ...

and My Favorite Highway. ''Aim and Ignite'' was released on August 25 through

Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk Management, and Nettwerk One Publishing. Established in 1984, the Vancouver-based company was created by Nettwerk principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record ...

. Two of the bonus tracks are re-imagined versions of songs on the CD, and two are remixes. The title of the album comes from a line of the lyrics on the track "Light a Roman Candle with Me". Following a support slot for

Motion City Soundtrack Motion City Soundtrack is an American rock band that formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1997. The band's line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Justin Courtney Pierre, lead guitarist Joshua Cain, keyboardist Jesse Johnson, bassist Matthe ...

, Fun supported

Paramore Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of the group, w ...

on their headlining US tour in April and May.

Reception

''Aim and Ignite'' was released to positive reviews.

AbsolutePunk.net ''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to fea ...

's Drew Beringer praised the album, calling it "what a pop album ''should'' sound like" and "the most essential pop album of 2009".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

called the album "progressive, but in the best possible way" and admired Ruess's lyrics for "investigating the larger truths of life...with a witty approach that keeps the songs bubbling merrily along on a positive note". Dave de Sylvia of

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...

wrote, "''Aim and Ignite'' isn’t the most consistent pop album around," but he ultimately commended the album as "a superbly mixed and arranged album made by musicians who clearly understand the limits and potential of pop music". Estella Hung of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, f ...

'' was less impressed with the album, praising songs "Be Calm" and "The Gambler", but criticizing the lyrics and production of the album's early tracks. Hung concluded that while ''Aim and Ignite'' is "pretty original to say the least", it "fails to live up to the Format's last outing". Popdose's Ken Shane called the album "an interesting and unusual listen". Shane applauded the album's songwriting and said "many of the songs are really good", but he objected to the "cute" production, desiring to hear the band "in a more stripped-down form. He ended his review with: "I have a similar problem with Dr. Dog, a band that was recommended to me by a number of people. I think much of their recorded work is too fussed over, but when I saw them live and their sound was more stripped down out of necessity, emphasizing their powerful songwriting, I thought they were wonderful. Perhaps the same fate awaits me with Fun." The album reached number 26 on Sputnikmusic's top 50 albums of 2009.

Track listing

iTunes bonus tracks #

"Stitch Me Up" (Ruess, Dost, Antonoff) – 4:05 #"Walking the Dog II" – 4:31 # "Take Your Time" (Acoustic) – 3:57 # "Walking the Dog" (RAC Mix) – 4:30 # "All the Pretty Girls" (RAC Mix) – 4:25

Personnel

fun.

– lead guitar, drums, percussion, backing vocals *

– piano, guitars,

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...

, percussion, keyboards,

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...

, trumpet, synthesizers, glockenspiel, backing vocals *

– lead and backing vocals

Additional musicians

*Jas Thor – trombone (tracks: 4, 6, 8) *Double G – saxophones (tracks: 5, 8) *Lara Wickes – oboe (track 4) *Phil Parlapiano – accordion (track 1) *Mike Whits – viola (tracks: 5, 6, 9) *Ina Whits – violin (tracks: 5, 6, 9) *Timothy Loo – cello (tracks: 5, 6, 9) *Vanessa Freebairn-Smith – cello (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 6) *Neel Hammond – violin and viola (tracks: 1–6, 9) *John O'Reilly – drums (all tracks except: 7, 9) *

– vocals (tracks: 4, 10), bass (all tracks except: 2, 9) *Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. – calliope (track 1) *Christopher Bautista – trumpet (tracks: 1, 8) *Connie Corn – vocals (tracks: 2, 8, 10) *Karen Mills – vocals (tracks: 2, 8, 10) *Ida Relhm – vocals (tracks: 2, 8, 10) *Anna Waronker – vocals (tracks: 1, 5) * Rachel Antonoff – vocals (tracks: 1, 4, 5)

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2009 debut albums Fun (band) albums Nettwerk Records albums