Surprising improvement for Owl City's latest EP
Written by Shadrach Strehle, Former Student on Monday, June 4, 2012
Ever since the release of “Fireflies”, which sold over 3 million copies, Owl City has been a household name. The fantastic lyrics, soft techno beats and chip tune base of Owl City’s first big album “Ocean Eyes” instantly set this one man band apart from the rest of the music scene. However, the album was not without its problems. In many songs including “Hello Seattle” and “Tip of the Iceberg” the singing was heavily auto tuned and therefore lacked individuality. In 2010 Owl City released the album “All Things Bright and Beautiful” which rode the coattails of “Fireflies” and offered the same, auto tune and all. Owl City’s recently released four song EP fixes the problems I had with their previously released music by providing more individuality in the vocals and a more daring style overall.
When you start “Shooting Star” you are greeted by Owl City’s familiar techno vibe which quickly changes into classic percussion, electric guitar and unaltered vocals. The change is gradual but noticeable and signifies a transformation through-out the rest of the EP. The general upbeat feel of the EP is much like previous Owl city releases but without the restraints of auto tune. Adam Young, the only member of Owl city, belts out the lyrics with much more . . . feeling. Yes I know its cliché but the only word that can describe the emotion that Adam puts into the music with his now unrestrained voice is feeling. The EP also includes a guest appearance from Blink 182’s bassist and talk show host Mark Hoppus. Some may consider it weird that someone from a punk band would perform with Owl City but the resulting mixture is one of the best I have ever heard.
Adam released this EP to let people know what his next album will feel like, and I for one cannot wait.
