Owl City consists of Adam Young, a 23 year old whose music comes to us straight from his parent's basement in Minnesota. A Myspace success, Young claims to make his music purely to combat his insomnia.
His newest album is called Ocean Eyes and it is a glorious blend of synthpop, e
lectronica and new wave. It's like listening to a slightly less polished version of The Postal Service, or an American Get Cape.Wear Cape.Fly. Young has also collaborated with pop-punk band Relient K's frontman, Matthew Thiessen on several tracks. So, Owl City belongs to a noble heritage of electronic mixing salt shaker percussion effects. However, the album is pleasantly uplifting and doesn't once get boring. The Saltwater Room is a sweet duet featuring Breanne Duren, whose voice seems perfectly made for this style of music and who may actually be a robot. A beautiful robot.Dental Care is a crazy, tongue-in-cheek tune which sings the praises of a thoroughly cheerful trip to the dentist. Why not? After all, dentists deserve their air-time, too. Fireflies is Owl City's most successful track to date (peaking at 7 on the US charts) and dips its finger in the stylings of electro, punk and pop at its absolute best.
The lyrics are childlike in their simplicity, mimicking the music, yet the themes of the album evoke awe and wonder in the simplest and most common things of life. It's hopeful, cute and not at all hokey. Who knew words like 'warm', 'fuzzy' and 'hugs' could be taken seriously in a pop song?
Look out for Owl City in the future (he has just been signed by Universal Republic) and also keep your eyes and ears open for Goodbye Dubai, a hinted side-project with Matt Thiessen. Exciting days.
My Rating: *** 3 stars
Recommendation: If you like electro, you'll enjoy this. It's cute. Happy, and cute.
Website: www.myspace.com/owlcity
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