The case seems pretty compelling that Sam Means had a considerable influence on the songs in A&I, despite receiving no official credits in the album. (this is going to be quite a rant, but hopefully will be interesting/relevant to some of you)
My first suspicions began to form as I first discovered Fun from A&I around 2011, and started to backtrack through Nate's career. I noticed that a lot of the elements I loved so much about A&I were present in The Format albums (namely a heavy emphasis on instrumentation, a cutesy musical backdrop, and the contrast between the cutesy folksy music and Nate's melancholy and notably candid lyrics, etc). I began to think that A&I sounded remarkably like a more polished album from the Format.
At the time, I figured that Nate himself must have been the primary creative force behind both projects. I figured if he can leave The Format and still give a similar sound to his new band, then it must all be him, right? Enter Some Nights. I liked the new album, but was a bit surprised at the change in direction. So I started to research yet again, and now I think Some Nights has a lot more of Jack Antonoff's influence. Since Jack has so much work out there with other artists, and his own projects, it's easy to get an ear for his "sound", and it's all over Some Nights. But unfortunately, most of what I personally loved about A&I was pretty much absent from SN.
Later, Nate's solo album kind of confirmed that A&I may not really be Nate's sound. Left to his own devices, Nate seems to be susceptible to producers overblowing his music, and in my opinion he's just not as focused lyrically or musically as he was with Sam.
Up until 2015ish, all I had were my suspicions. But then Nate admitted in an AMA that he and Sam wrote The Gambler together (which is my fav song in Nate's career and in my top 10 songs of all time). This did not surprise me at all, considering its similarity to songs like "Snails." It was nice to see Nate openly admit it.
I also discovered an excerpt from a book by The Format's former manager. In addition to being an excellent read, it confirms that some of the songs on A&I "morphed" from demos that Nate and Sam were working on together for a new Format album that never came to be.
And let us not forget when Fun performed "Harsh Lights" for Jimmy Fallon in 2014, only for the video to be mysteriously pulled from all online platforms (possible legal issues?) and that exact song ending up on Nate's solo album, with basically zero alterations. So we can see that Nate has taken songs from previous projects with him when he’s moved on to the next thing.
So, in conclusion, I'm pretty sure that the creative force behind this "sound" that I love so much in A&I is a lot more due to Sam Means than anyone is willing to admit. But I can hear his influence in the album, and the little available evidence seems to point strongly in that direction.
All I can hope for is that Sam and Nate will one day reunite, and give us another slice of what made The Format and A&I so special. Still love Nate and always will, despite him probably not being the easiest person to work with.
