Owl City is Awesome

Owl City has achieved pop perfection. It’s been six years since The Postal Service’s “Give Up” was released, and it’s time someone stepped it up. Adam Young has done this with his latest release on Universal titled “Ocean Eyes“. When I first heard “Fireflies” on the radio I threw up. Then I bought the album on Lala when I got home. Holy crap, this is awesome. I haven’t been this excited about an album in ages. According to Lala I’ve listened to the album 22 times. In two weeks. Judge all you want after you’ve listened through the record once.

What’s the story? Why is this stuff sooo catchy? There’s nothing to dislike about it. It makes you feel good. Everything about it is syrupy sweet, whimsical, and friendly. The lyrics have most people rolling their eyes or going “ohhh I get it” every other line. Okay, so maybe not everyone likes it, but the mass appeal is undeniable. Let’s take a look at the charts for the first single from the album, “Fireflies”, as of this post’s writing:

• #1 on the Billboard charts
• #1 on Lala’s charts with 33,000+ listens
• fastest-selling electronic/alternative track EVER
• most downloaded song on iTunes US

And now for the album, according to Billboard:

• #8 Rock album
• #7 Modern Rock/Alternative album
• #3 Digital album
• #2 Electronic album

Okay. Digital, electronic, modern rock, straight rock, topping the charts in all. When I first heard the album I didn’t even think about genre. I was reading about it on Allmusic and saw it listed under Electronica. Really? I mentioned this to Dan and he said “Well, what do you think it is if it’s not electronica?” I thought it was rock. And I still do. I suppose that’s why it’s at the top of both the rock and electronica charts – it’s a perfect blend of the two. Real vocals (kind of), rocking drums (probably all electronic though), and most of all, pop rock songs. All of these songs could easily be arranged for a rock band, and that’s something the Postal Service album had as well. I distinctly remember my good friend Matt calling me up one day in 2004, much more excited than usual, saying “Dude, it’s really lame, but you have to listen to the Postal Service. You’re going to hate it at first, but trust me, it’s awesome.” He was right.

Matthew Thiessen of Relient K produced the album, and if you’re at all familiar with Relient K, I think you’ll agree that Ocean Eyes is 3 parts Postal Service + 1 part Relient K + 99 parts Awesome. Thiessen co-wrote two songs on the album, and sang on several others. At times I honestly cannot tell the difference between Thiessen’s and Young’s work. All the instruments are perfectly sequenced and mixed. Thiessen’s influence is apparent when it comes to vocal melodies. Check out Relient K’s Five Score and Seven Years Ago for a comparison.

Another album Ocean Eyes reminds me of is Mylo‘s aptly titled “Destroy Rock & Roll“, released in the UK in ’04 and the US in ’05. Similar story…guy in a basement making awesome music, though Mylo was in a Scottish basement while Young was in a Minneapolis basement. Not too different I suppose. Mylo is much more electronica oriented, but still has some really appealing elements for a rock lover. Check out “In My Arms“.

Back to “Ocean Eyes.” The lyrics are a massive pun-fest. But that makes it appealing to so many people. It’s really really clever. Young’s Twitter account is full of wordplay, too. It’s like he thinks in puns. And the music feels the same way – he does every pop-oriented trick you can think of. One lyric that particularly stands out to me is in “The Bird And The Worm” (not to be confused with The Used’s version). “…we’ll take a long walk through the cornfield and I’ll kiss you between the ears.” Really? Yep. Awesome.

A perfect blend of electronica and rock, sugary melodies and lyrical trickery, Adam Young’s Owl City picks up where The Postal Service left off. This is how you crush genre lines. Don’t be embarrassed. I love Owl City, and you will too.