Ah, the blessing and curse that is the solo record. Driven by a desire to create in a different setting than the band the artist is attached to, it offers freedom to create without the limitations of disapproval from other bandmates. This freedom can be expressed in many ways, but naturally I find that it can really be narrowed to two. Either your solo album sounds like your band’s work (meaning there’s a good chance that some of these songs are leftovers from your band), or it sounds nothing like it (meaning your inspiration was truly to make something that contrasted from this previously recorded material). For Nate Ruess, it’s a little bit of both. After several years in The Format and massive commercial success as the lead singer for Fun., Nate decided to release a solo record entitled Grand Romantic. Ruess said part of this desire was out of selfishness for his work, as he felt these songs didn’t belong on a Fun. record. A handful of them were meant for the follow-up to Fun.’s successful sophomore outing, Some Nights, but given the desire for each member to pursue other projects (with Jack Antonoff producing and performing in Bleachers, and Andrew Dost doing some scoring work), Fun. decided to go on hiatus until they felt truly inspired to collaborate again. Out of this hiatus comes Ruess’ chance to be more than just one of the most recognizable voices in pop music today. Grand Romantic both helps and hurts his ability to do so.
After a short, operatic-sounding intro track, we’re treated to “AhHa”. Coming off as triumphant and grandiose, Nate sings over a large horn ensemble and snare drum played in a militaristic-fashion. It’s instantly reminiscent of “Some Nights”, both musically and lyrically, as he samples the song’s closing lines “It’s for the best you didn’t listen, It’s for the best we get our distance”. His claim that the track is an evil twin to “Some Nights” is plausible as it’s both sinister and as joyful as any other Fun. song. “Nothing Without Love” follows. Soulful and piano-driven, it’s a nice change of pace from the typical instrumentation you’d find in a Fun. song. It’s grown on me since its release, and is definitely a highlight of the record. The instrumentation on following track “Take It Back” is akin to that of some of the instrumentation on Fun.’s debut, Aim and Ignite. It’s somber and a little carefree. Both its overall cadence and well-executed guitar solo make it feel like a great slow-dance song.
Out of all the songs on this record, “You Light My Fire” is the closest to being considered unnecessary. It’s a little too overtly optimistic for my taste. Perhaps the removal of the xylophone and Nate’s forced high-pitched speaking would help, but that’s just me. The underlying guitar work is really nice, and while it’s probably my least favorite track on this album, it’s more-or-less fitting. “What This World Is Coming To” is probably the best song on Grand Romantic for a number of reasons. Between Beck showing up for a guest spot and some similarities to Nate’s work in The Format, there’s a lot to enjoy here. The range of Nate’s vocals is well-balanced and the partly-sonic instrumentation blends nicely with the harmony between his voice and Beck’s. “Great Big Storm” marks the return of the grandiose sound we heard in “AhHa” but in a less-upfront way. It feels a little overly-dramatic, and I don’t quite understand the filtered, spoken-word bridge, but it’s not terrible. “Moment” has the possibility of being overlooked at this point in the record, but it’s minimalistic instrumentation and lack of overused high-pitched vocals make it the album’s most beautiful track. There’s a lot of passion in Nate’s voice, and when combined with the piano, it works beautifully.
“It Only Gets Much Worse” has some of my favorite lyricism of Ruess’. It feels like a natural extension of the previous track, yet at the same time it feels a little bit like a Queen song in the bridge. It also has a chance of being overlooked, but said chance is nothing compared to that of the following title track. I get its inclusion, but at this point in the record, it’s just a little too dramatic. The latter half that the intro track borrows from could work as a closing track, but the record continues with “Harsh Lights”. I remember hearing this song back when it was being considered for inclusion on the third Fun. LP. Hearing it now was a nice surprise. The instrumentation blends together better than any other track on the record, and it’s appropriately placed within the tracklisting. Grand Romantic closes with “Brightside”, a track that instantly reminds me of Aim and Ignite closer “Take Your Time (Coming Home)”. While I couldn’t think of any other way to end this album, some of it is overtly cheesy. The “la la la la”s and the return of Nate’s high-pitched speaking makes it feel like a Disney movie. That ends rather quickly as the records fades out over the sound of a music box.
I try not to go into a record with a lot of preconceived notions as it might skew the way I judge it. That being said, it’s hard to do so without instantly being reminded of something else. Grand Romantic does just that from start to finish. As much as I’d like to say that it stands out from Nate Ruess’ previously released material, it’s impossible not to call this what it is: a Fun. album without Fun.. Granted, it might borrow some from The Format (my exposure to their work is limited to only a handful of songs, but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve heard), but it borrows more from Fun. than anything else. That’s not to say that Jack and Andrew don’t have as large of a foothold in Fun., or that Grand Romantic is a terrible album. There are some great songs on this record, and I personally would place it above Some Nights and right next to Aim and Ignite. The album cover is also one of the best pieces of album art I’ve seen in years, and it captures the essence of this record quite well. In the long run, though, I think this record suffered from high expectations from Fun.’s fanbase and overborrowing. It could’ve been a lot more unique than it actually was, letting Nate stand out on his own like Jack does with Bleachers. Whatever Nate Ruess’ next project is, be it another solo record, another Fun. record, another record with The Format (which seems unlikely), or something completely different, let’s hope it can actually sound different than what he’s previously released.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssVvkfcL9HI[/youtube]
0 Comments