Who Knew Bleachers Could Be So Fun.?
Fun. has had an impeccable couple years breaking out from the underground scene and into Top 40 charts. With a sold-out tours and a couple critically-acclaimed albums under their belt, it seems like the band has not even had time to stop for clarity in this whirlwind of music. However, for the past year guitarist Jack Antonoff had been working on writing and recording music for his soloist act, Bleachers.
"[W]hat I started doing was making the record whenever I could—For instance, for the Bleachers single, “I Wanna Get Better,” I did the vocals in Malaysia, recorded the guitars in Stockholm, mixed it in New Zealand, and then flew home to New York. If I thought about it all too much in advance I would have gone to bed forever. I take it one day at a time." (source).
Bleachers' electric, choppy sound mixed with Antonoff's coming-of-age vocals give off a certain 1980s pop-rock, anthemic vibe. Antonoff expressed that many of John Hughes' famous 80s films inspired him to make this type of sound.
"It was this time when music on the radio and films was so cool—I grew up in the nineties, when mainstream music was really good and really cool. You’d meet someone your age, and you’d think, “I know we’ll be friends because you like Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana.” That’s gone—it died in the late nineties. The theory that we have with Fun. is not being apologetic, and not being afraid to be mainstream—but trying to be the best within that mainstream genre, which harkens back to a time when you could be great and mainstream." (source).
With two singles already released, Antonoff is working on the finishing touches on the album as a whole. Expressing that he does not want an album full of just singles make appear that Bleachers is not just a side-project anymore but a soloist act. Already developing a fan base, Bleachers sold out its first show March 27 at Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg. With this extra boost of confidence for Antonoff, the act will also play at Firefly and the Governor's Ball festivals this summer along with a summer tour.
What does this mean for fun.?
Nate Ruess is currently working on writing for the band's new album. Absolutely no news of the band breaking up, and why would they after the success rate they have all had these past couple of years? Ruess also hints that the new album will focus on the shift between the person he was wishing and dreaming and the person he is now after achieving his dream.
""The first song on this new album is like the opposite of that, lyrically. You know, 'You got what you wished for. What the fuck are you wishing for now?'" (source).
