Photo:

New York band Fun. are masters of euphoric indie-pop - and are the biggest bands in the USA right now. The band have this week hit No.1 stateside with their single 'We Are Young' featuring funk-pop songstress Janelle Monae, and have been the first multi-member rock band to debut at the top spot on the Billboard charts since Nickelback's “How You Remind Me” in December 2001. Glad someone toppled that record.

Fun. released their début 'Aim and Ignite' in 2009. However, their popularity has boomed this year after dropping their latest album “Some Nights” earlier this year - and it's easy to see why. Their blend of euphoric melodies, rhythmic strums and effervescent beats are simply irresistible - and they're set to explode in the UK as well.

The charismatic and bespectacled frontman Nate Ruess previously recorded as The Format, but found Andrew Dost of Anathallo and Jack Antonoff from Steel Train to form the new collective when their former bands fell on hard times.

The song 'We Are Young' conjures up a heady mix of theatrical orchestrations, and propulsive, immediate vocals which beam with inspiration and youthful energy. Reuss's inflections shift from vulnerable, verbal tumbling in the sparse introduction into the grandiose declaration “Tonight we are young, So let's set the world on fire” in the anthemic chorus.

Also admirable for their determination, lead singer Nate Ruess dogged hip-hop producer Jeff Bhasker (Beyonce) for months to convince him to produce the record, and only won him over after singing the chorus to “We Are Young” in Bhasker's hotel room after plying him with drinks. Moreover, even though the song may be catchy and stadium-ready, it's the band's emo self-deprecation and humour which separate them from the overcrowded legions of indie-pop bands.

Fun. will be hitting the UK later this year, and 'Some Nights' is already available from iTunes.

Watch the video for “We Are Young” below.