Not Always A Good Time
by Renjini Antony
For a one man band, Adam Young is doing a pretty decent job selling music, but he’s not as adept in making music. As Owl City releases its fourth album, The Midsummer Station, not much has changed since the time music listeners first listened to Owl City’s breakout single, “Fireflies.”
The Midsummer Station continues Owl City’s use of ridiculously cheesy lyrics that could only be loved by tweens and uses heavily synthesized beats and sounds that appear to have been made using a few iPhone apps.
One thing must be said, for Owl City to arrange certain sounds into a song, Adam Young gets credit for being clever. However, though Young does have a nice voice, hitting high and low notes all over, every song on his album uses programs to modify his voice in a way that makes it less appealing.
Though most of the album contains cheesy lyrics and horribly synthesized music, the entire album doesn’t sound so horrible. “Dementia” was one of the few songs that sounded different from the rest of the album and it had a bit of a pop-punk vibe to it, which can be credited due to the fact that it features Mark Hoppus from pop-punk band blink-182.
The fact that the album isn’t that great, showcases its potential to produce radio hits. One song that has been playing on various radio stations non-stop is “Good Time,” a duet between Owl City and “Call Me Maybe” singer, Carly Rae Jepsen. “I’m Coming After You” “Speed of Love” “Take It All Away” also had potential to be radio hits, as they have infectious beats and catchy tunes.
Even though the album is comprised of synthetic sounds, the songs are catchy, and as much as you don’t want to like them, the songs will be stuck in your head for a few days.
The Midsummer Station continues Owl City’s use of ridiculously cheesy lyrics that could only be loved by tweens and uses heavily synthesized beats and sounds that appear to have been made using a few iPhone apps.
One thing must be said, for Owl City to arrange certain sounds into a song, Adam Young gets credit for being clever. However, though Young does have a nice voice, hitting high and low notes all over, every song on his album uses programs to modify his voice in a way that makes it less appealing.
Though most of the album contains cheesy lyrics and horribly synthesized music, the entire album doesn’t sound so horrible. “Dementia” was one of the few songs that sounded different from the rest of the album and it had a bit of a pop-punk vibe to it, which can be credited due to the fact that it features Mark Hoppus from pop-punk band blink-182.
The fact that the album isn’t that great, showcases its potential to produce radio hits. One song that has been playing on various radio stations non-stop is “Good Time,” a duet between Owl City and “Call Me Maybe” singer, Carly Rae Jepsen. “I’m Coming After You” “Speed of Love” “Take It All Away” also had potential to be radio hits, as they have infectious beats and catchy tunes.
Even though the album is comprised of synthetic sounds, the songs are catchy, and as much as you don’t want to like them, the songs will be stuck in your head for a few days.