Owl City’s vocalist Adam Young must be pretty ecstatic right now. His brand of cute synthpop is about to explode onto the UK scene – with the release of album Ocean Eyes. But does it deserve our attention? Our resident emo-surgeon SIMON LEONARD dissects the latest hype victim.
Owl City – Ocean Eyes
Released 15/2/2010
‘Cave In’ begins in familiar electro territory and sets the scene for an album filled with cheerful, cutesy tunes which are ultimately rather forgettable. The lyrics are a fantastical affair (as is usually the case in this genre).
Most of the time it feels like Young is following a textbook formula to synthpop. Track ‘Umbrella Beach’ is the only exception. The chorus kicks in with a beat that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Shiny Toy Gun’s album.
‘Dental Care’ is a terrible track. Whatever possessed Young to sing about his experience at the dentist is completely beyond me.
One of the main criticisms of this album has been the blurring of the line between influence and sounding exactly like The Postal Service. Number one single ‘Fireflies’ does sound a little too much like Ben Gibbard’s work for my liking. The main difference between the two albums is in the tempo – with Owl City adopting a more upbeat approach.
With a sell out UK tour kicking off soon and taking pole position in the charts, I think the future is bright for Owl City. Still, I doubt they will win any originality awards.
Simon Leonard
Tags: owl city
