Before there was fun., there was The Format. In February 2002, Nate Ruess and Sam Means, 20 and 22 respectively, wanted to make music for fun outside of the punk genre they were accus-tomed to, and to create an outlet for their more pop oriented ideas. Writing in secret, the two stumbled onto exactly what they were looking for: intelligent pop based on a cocktail of disparate flavors -- a shot of Beatle-esque pop here, a twist of singer/songwriter stylings there, and a musical backdrop proud of its eighties roots, like big fat drum machines, acoustic guitars, synths, maybe even a handclap or two. The results summon the better moments of Squeeze, with subtle nods to Skylarking-era XTC and other crystalline '80s pop. With the late 2002 release of their indie EP, they garnered daily airplay on Phoenix's influential modern rock station The Edge and won an overwhelming response from listeners. Now thier Elekta debut album, Interventions and Lullabies, fulfills the promise of the EP with a dozen smart, strummy, tartly witty tunes.
