Owl City: Ocean Eyes

(I'm a huge Owl City fan, and always have been, so the following comments will be biased)

I agree with some of your points...such as the cheesy-ness of his music, and how Umbrella Beach was thumpy...but I don't think he would deny that at all...(Adam Young said his music, is akin to something like "Girly Cell-Phone music, and green apple soap bubbles")(I also believe that Umbrella Beach was made for a good concert, HIT!...something to bounce around, and dance too)

And some of the production work wasn't his best. (Dental Care and The Bird And The Worm seemed to copy, a LOT, of Relient K's sounds...)

But I loved the song Cave In, and Tidal Wave...I thought the lyrical exploration of it, was amazing....

But, all in all, I believe that on his faster songs, he improved a lot...on his slower songs, he should go back to ambient-ness

I love Adam Young, the guy who reviewed this album is probably h0m0sexual!

This reviewer needs to relax. He can't even see the happy, light, and cheerful innocence of the beautiful music and inspiring lyrics. I think that all of this nonsense comparing Adam to The Postal Service is absolute rubbish. If you compare him to them, of course you are going to be disappointed. He isn't the Postal service! Duh! He is Adam and Owl City. The guy wrote this review didn't give the music a chance and was looking for ways to bash the music.

I also find it funny that the reviewer calls Adam cheesy and overdone and yet he ends his review with a ridiculously dramatic sentence. "If this is the future of pop, we'll grab our coats." Give me a break shakespeare.

I don't necessarily see how that sentence was 'ridiculously dramatic' in any way but hey, thanks for the constructive feedback.

Dramatic? My coat was already half on.

Brad...wtf? are u retarded? Adam is amazing and enter shakari is progressing so well...its really easy to tear down someone's art...but it is a lot harder to make it...go take some Community College writing classes brad...itll help u out...douche

serious dude? Adam is amazing...ur writing is elementary...and ur review is horrible...and btw.... Enter Shikari is progressing musically extremely well...i hate u Brad

Brad you are a fucking cocksucking twat this is the best album by owl city deal with it

Like clockwork, after the constructive feedback, comes the ..........

Wow, i should've guessed by his adult-themed name that the comment was going to be any form of agreement.

I'm thinking Brad just wants something to complain about, hmm? He figured if he wrote about someone that's unbelievably brilliant, happy and fun (unlike himself), he'd get a good amount of feedback on this terrible attempt of a review...

... he's most likely dancing to it right now.

(aren't cha' BrAdDd?)

I see you can click Comment sucks, but where is REVIEW sucks?

I think it sounds like Disney channel Death Cab for Cutie.

Adam is awesome. I love his songs. Stop criticizing him, u act like its easy to just write a song when u can barely even write a good review. Why dont u go do something like take a writing class instead of criticizing other peoples work.

Now, i've only listened to some of the album, so i'm not an expert on it so i do not know whether brad is completely right or not. however, he is right, in my opinion, on three things. 1) He does sound a LOT like Ben Gibbard. 2) "Fireflies" is a ridiculously forgetful song. 3) The aim for this album was far too broad. He tried to please WAY too many people and things like Enter Shikari come out an uncomfortable mess.

I don't understand how anyone can seriously listen to Owl City. Holy sh*t its awful! I wouldn't even go as far as comparing this garbage to the brilliance that was Give Up.

Ok, if your going to criticize Brad about writing a bad review...at least follow your own words with a decent reason WHY you didn't like it other than "Owl City rocks, you suck" type of comments. His writing is good.

Ok, from a production standpoint, what is incredibly simple or boring about Ocean Eyes? "Cave in" for example had 6 complete dynamic changes in the 4 minutes of song. Even if you found it predictable, the last 50 seconds where the orchestra chops is a fantastic change up so I'm confused where you feel it was boring or simple? Also check out the guitar on "The Bird and the Worm" and "The Saltwater Room". It's creative and even as a guitar player myself (www.myspace.com/lucashitch) it's definitely respectable...especially when we're talking about the same guy who is playing all the keys as well. The wide range of sounds, beats and staccato's through the CD was more than enough to keep my attention. Finally, "On the Wing" has a brilliant way of keeping the catchy, melodic intro pulsing through the song, coming in and out letting you savor it without screaming "listen to the cool synth melody I made!"....finally putting words to it to make it a kind of chorus. Thoughtful arrangement.

Ok now about the songwriting...I will mostly agree with you there. Dentist seemed like an experience I would never want anyone else to endure...why take us all there? Fluffy lines like "Cause I get a thousand hugs, from 10 thousand lightning bugs as they try to teach my how to dance" make me wonder how much time he had to have spent with his 14 year old sister and their sleepovers when he was young? What confuses me is that it seems like he can write intelligent, thought provoking lyrics when he wants to. For instance, in Tidal Waves "All my life I wish I broke mirrors instead of promises cause all I see is a shattered conscience staring back at me" and "is that the light at the far end of the tunnel, or just the train?" Not incredible deep...but at least witty.

All in all I think Owl City is all too aware of it's own fluffiness, which is to say he's ok with it ...and even though I'm not usually the type to say this, I've found I'm strangely ok with it too

I've been a huge fan of Owl City for a while now, but I think your review has a few good and bad points.

The main point I think, is overproduced. ESPECIALLY on the three songs which were re-done for this album (Hello Seattle, On the Wing, and Saltwater Room), it's way too much, there were very good songs before every line had the proper conjunction in front of it.

I also agree that Dental Care is bad...it seems very forced, as do parts of Umbrella Beach. As for Fireflies, I like it a lot, it churns up definite emotions and memories for me. If you couldn't associate with what it expresses, I can see why it would be cheesy.

But also, what the heck? If this style of music is not what you're looking for, that is no reason to smash the artist for it. You may have heard Owl City compared to The Postal Service...but they don't have anything in common besides electronic style, and if it is TPS you are looking for, you will /not/ find it in Owl City. Most TPS songs are pretty mellow and well...depressing. Seriously? Tidal Wave pushes on every nerve you own? That says to me that you are infuriated by songs which depict the happier side of life(which doesn't necessarily mean fluffy...although it can), so it is no surprise that you were revolted by Ocean Eyes.

I have to say that though the lyrics sound odd, they do have meanings to it.

Cave In is about overcoming something (needing help at times, realization, and becoming stronger)

The Bird and the Worm is about first love.

Hello Seattle was a filler. I hated it.

Umbrella Beach is about treasured memories.

The Saltwater Room is about a shy love.

Dental Care is not just about having clean teeth, but making the right decisions.

Meteor Shower (sadly) has a "God will save you" vibe. Though, I don't hate the song either.

Fireflies depicts dreams and dreams being broken.

The Tip of the Iceberg is about how support from loved ones can be a strong thing.

Vanilla Twilight shows a broken love, but goes to keeping what's sad a memory.

Tidal Wave is about "firsts".

Obviously Adam had to change certain things. It's a very youthful album; made for the kiddies. The lyrics are playful with meaning. I think this reviewer just "heard" the music. He didn't bother to listen to it. Not all music is supposed to be presented as "obvious".

Look, this review is by far the most narrowminded i have come across. It is clear that your preference in music is shifted to the rock side of things (using Enter Shikari and Gallows for a comparison to Owl City.. lol). Your understanding of Adam Young's purpose in making these songs is somewhat lacking. I'll give it you that dental care was a mistake, but every other song is a brilliant example of how someone with great but not excellent talent in music, can create something that appeals to to the millions that listen to him. His fan base is greater than Gallows, so in a purely utalitarianistic view, Owl city trumps.

i thought he sounded a LOT like relient k...creepy.

I think Owl City is a wonderful musician and writes amazing lyrics. I have a question for CM though. Could you tell more about the meanings of the songs The Tip of the Iceberg and Dental Care? I had no idea they had that kind of meaning :)

Ok, so I only heard one song on net radio - Fireflies - which makes me kind of ill-informed whilst posting a comment, but can't you get sued for ripping off Postal Service that bad?!

Are they being funded by the Dubai tourist board?