19 April 2012
Jack Antonoff of Fun has now gone on to greater fame and fortune as co-writer and producer with Taylor Swift. I wonder if ‘We Are Young’ was in his CV when he was pitching for that gig. Probably not.
Perhaps the more pertinent question is: what did Taylor Swift see in this? ‘We Are Young’ is like two differently dull US pop-rock songs welded together into an exponentially duller cut-and-shut that you’d be mortified to see in your driveway. I’m guessing the band name Fun (styled as fun. for additionally prickish and passive-aggressive effect) and the song name were meant as ironic; there’s no fun or youth in this at all.
What’s worse is they get in Janelle Monáe as a guest vocalist just to make her sound as bored and boring as this. In a perverse way, that’s the only accomplishment of this dour, trudging, dreadful sack of naffness. It also has a lyric about a scar the narrator gave to his lover. Hearing ‘We Are Young’ has me amazed any of Taylor Swift’s recent records have been as good as they are; maybe Antonoff is the anti-hero.
