[Review] Owl City-All Things Bright and Beautiful

Owl City emerged from the basement in Minnesota thanks to a bad case of insomnia. Little did Adam Young know, that the silly songs he made out of his lack of sleep would get this much notoriety. He got signed to a label and it was all uphill from there. After releasing his third album, “Ocean Eyes,” he became an almost overnight sensation through Myspace’s promotion of his music video for “Fireflies.”  This opened a big window for Adam to show everyone that a song doesn’t require a single profane line, love-song-esque mannerism, or suggestive reference in it to be absolutely spectacular.

Now releasing his fourth album, All Things Bright and Beautiful, he has come back from his time touring and writing to record and release something quite stellar. Maintaining his consistent mix of acoustic guitar, piano, and synth along with his love of god, he’s clearly at the top of his genre.

His first release from the album, “Alligator Sky,” is entirely different from all of his other songs in one key aspect, there is a man by the name of Shawn Chrystopher rapping in the majority of the song. It’s a move that was welcomed by some, and shunned by others, but in the end, it was a good choice. This added in a sense that there is potentially something for everyone in the album. Another key thing about this album is that he is trying to lean away from singing love songs.  The next song that was pre-released, track-by-track, was “Deer in the Headlights.”  It’s a perfect combination of a traditional band and an electronic one. Along with that factor, it’s extremely catchy and is by far my favorite song off of the album. It’s just one of those songs that one cannot listen to without getting caught up in the rhythm or singing along.

Following “Deer in the Headlights” is “Angels,” which talks about Adam’s belief that angels are among the Earth watching over us. In this song, you hear something not common in his songs:  he exerts extensively. It catches you off guard and the synthesizer takes you away so that you’ll be “rolling in the evening breeze.” It’s a beautifully catchy song that deserves a great deal of recognition.

In the middle of the album, you’ll hit the song “Honey and the Bee,” in which you’ll recognize Breanne Düren’s voice. The song is primarily backed by acoustic guitar, which eventually breaks out and incorporates the band and electronic side of Owl City’s style. Coming up would be the song, “Galaxies.” This is a full-fledged statement by Adam taken through his devout Christian beliefs. He’s not afraid to put any reference in his work that talks about his love of God, which deserves an incredible amount of respect. Backing this message is a poppy synth beat carrying throughout and melody of stringed instruments with lyrics such as “Dear God, you’re the only North Star I would follow this far” and “He is the Saving Grace of the galaxies.”

One thing to notice though, is that the album seems kind of rushed in comparison to the other three, even though Young spent countless hours in his studio perfecting every single note. Not to worry however, “All Things Bright and Beautiful” is what it says it is: bright and beautiful. None of the songs sound similar to each other; they’re entirely independent in every single way. All of the songs are still going to be on repeat on my iPod for probably a month straight, because all of Owl City’s music just incites happiness in me every time I sit down to listen to it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to put my headphones on and slip away to the elegant tones of Owl City.

Dylan D.