‘Some Nights’ moves along emotional coaster

“Some Nights,” the newest album by Fun., which will be released Tuesday, opens with a boost of energy that nearly guarantees to impress. With the melodic high-pitched vocals of Nate Ruess, reminiscent of Freddie Mercury, set over the skillfully composed and almost operatic score, the intro to the album sets high hopes.

In December of 2011, Fun.’s “We Are Young” was performed by the cast of “Glee,” catapulting the somewhat obscure band into the number one downloaded song slot on iTunes that week. The momentum only grew from there when during Super Bowl XLVI, Chevrolet aired a commercial featuring the same song.

With this newfound mainstream exposure, the pressure for “Some Nights” to please the general audience is high.

This is the sophomore album for the band that formed and began practicing together in New Jersey in 2008. The band put out an album entitled “Aim and Ignite” in 2010 and was put on the top five bands to watch by “Rolling Stone,” though this was not enough to push the band from stardom to media saturation.

Ballads fill the album and make listening pleasant and uplifting. Well-placed and occasional bursts of energy keep the listener from being lulled to sleep.

“It Gets Better” is a shock that exposes the listener to a pop-punk anthem that motivates a sense of purpose and urgency. The surprises are endless as one travels through the tiers of the album. The diversity of sound isn’t confusing because somehow the band manages to maintain cohesion.

Though the styles are plentiful, each one is delivered with precision and is right on cue. This keeps the listener from being overwhelmed by sound.

The electronic tempo and percussion of “All Alone” is much different than its predecessor’s background music but the vocals of Ruess are enough to keep the style intact.

Each song is unique and has its own personality, but much like a family of individuals, they are all clearly related. The synthesizer used by Ruess in “Stars” is slightly over the top and seems much like a half-sibling when compared with the rest of the album. This is only one complaint in a sea of praise, but it was jarring enough to retract from the cohesion that up until then had been so alluring.
Regardless of its flaws, “Some Nights” is worthy of purchase. The ups and downs of mood created by the band make it a listenable album to nearly any audience. It’s a good album to play while sad, sleepy, mellow, happy or a combination of all.