First of all, can we just agree
that The Format is about the worst
band name ever. It does absolutely
nothing for me. I can’t imagine
what would inspire one of pop
music’s current best singers to choose
such a stupid band name. However,
Dog Problems is an infinitely better
title for an album. I don’t remember
how I learned about these guys.
I had no idea they existed two or
three years ago, but I think that their first
records were getting a vinyl reissue,
and somewhere in the PR was
notice that the singer for this band
was a guy named Nate Ruess, and
I was like, holy crap, that’s the guy
from Fun. More about Fun. later.
The Format, thanks to Nate Ruess,
sounds a lot, at least initially,
like Fun. His is a distinctive, highly
skilled tenor–he’s like a 21st century
Freddie Mercury–he’s got that kind
of range and that kind of tonal control.
And both bands, The Format
and Fun., do a kind of light power pop,
light, in that it’s upbeat stuff that makes
the listener feel groovy, but it’s pretty
sophisticated. The arrangements are
dense, sometimes surprising, and they
incorporate a wide instrumentation.
But unlike the wilder inventions of
the first album from Fun., these power
pop tunes, with a couple of really
interesting exceptions (the circus
waltz and show tune swing of “Matches”
and “Dog Problems”), are mostly
standard pop rock songs. Strong
performances, strong melodic hooks,
and great singing. This was their
sophomore album and came out
in 2006, and then twenty years later,
just a couple of months ago, comes
their third record, Boycott Heaven.
Suffice it to say
that these guys have had other things
to do, apparently, over those two decades.
It’s good to have them in the
world, and it’s good to have them back,
but I was a bit underwhelmed when
I streamed the new record, hoping
for a more adventurous approach,
and getting more standard power pop.
Let’s get back to that bad band name.
I read that it’s supposed to be ironic,
or kind of a satirical thing, indicating the
ruse of pretending to deliver whatever
the music biz “format” requires, but
surprising everyone by the sheer
audacity of the music. I like these guys.
I like Fun. a whole lot more. This
is good music, but I keep wishing it
was more audacious. Give me more
circus. Give me more show tunes.
Surprise me more often. Or make me
cry like that one Fun. song does.
Notes on the vinyl edition: Dog Problems, The Vanity Label, 2006, double album on clear vinyl, audio on three sides.
In case you don’t already know: I’m listening to almost everything in my vinyl collection, A to Z, and writing at least one, sometimes two or three long skinny poem-like-things in response for each artist, and on a few occasions, writing a long skinny poem-like-thing in response to more than one artist. As a poet and a student of poetry, I understand that these things look like poems, but they don’t really sound much like poetry, hence, I call them “poem-like-things.” I’ll admit that they’re just long, skinny essays that veer every now and then into the poetic or lyric.
michael jarmer 