Any regular reader of Punktastic will know that I’m a huge fan of The Format. They’re one of my favourite bands of all time; they just strike a chord with me that so many others fail. Nate Ruess’ voice just does it for me every time and it would be an understatement to say I was gutted when I heard they had broken up after ‘Dog Problems’, a record so utterly perfect it’s hard to say anything negative about it. Thankfully Nate is now back with a new band (featuring songs originally written for The Format) and while there are new band members, you can easily see and hear references to the band’s former group.
‘Aim and Ignite‘ is majestic. It takes everything The Format did and takes it up a notch. There’s more pomp and ceremony, more OTT vocals, more instrumentation…it’s perhaps not as obvious and hooky as ‘The First Single’, for instance, but I dare anyone to tell me ‘Be Calm’ is not a behemoth of a track, such a huge grower. ‘Benson Hedges’ started life as a The Format song and follows on beautifully from where ‘Dog Problems’ left us…it’s almost gospel in places. ‘At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be’) is incredible, while ‘All the Pretty Girls’ sounds like a 70s rock song…kind of like ELO or Starship or something which should be cheesy but is actually ruddy brilliant.
‘Aim and Ignite‘ won’t be for everyone. I think if you liked Steel Train or The Format this is absolutely essential listening. It’s uplifting and seriously, well, fun. It’s retro in places without being fashionably so. I think it’s so well crafted and put together immaculately that even trying to be objective and harsh I’m struggling to find any fault with at all. Even the quirkier songs like ‘Light A Roman Candle…’ are so stunningly beautiful that you can forgive the daftness of some of the lyrics.
Love good music? Love Fun. It’s as simple as that.