Owl City [All Things Bright And Beautiful]
Posted June 05, 2011
By KevinDavis_NRT, Staff Reviewer
Owl City is back with a new full-length studio album – All Things Bright And Beautiful – due out June 14th worldwide on Universal Republic. Produced by Owl City’s Adam Young and recorded at Sky Harbor Studios the album features twelve new songs. All Things Bright And Beautiful is the follow-up full-length studio album to Owl City’s platinum-selling debut Ocean Eyes. Ocean Eyes’ sales were led by the runaway single “Fireflies” which is currently quadruple platinum in the US. On All Things Bright and Beautiful, the music and lyrics conspire to make listeners feel as if they were stepping into another world — a musical dreamland where “reality is a lovely place, but I wouldn’t want to live there,” as Young sings on the opening track “The Real World.” That statement sums up the theme of this album well. Adam seems to write and sing songs that are mostly about living for something greater than this world. About how music and his faith merge, Young says, “Music is something that is fused to who I am. It allows me to breathe deeply, it lets me feel, imagine, aspire and dream in the most beautiful ways imaginable. Music is something that I can't imagine living without, and though it means more to me than the world itself, there is something that weighs significantly heavier on the scale of all things valuable and important in my life, that being my relationship with Jesus Christ.”
Images of abundance, like a backyard of butterflies in “Honey and the Bee,” blossoms filling a room in “Hospital Flowers,” and “sunsets that dazzle in the dusk ” in “Dreams Don’t Turn To Dust” unfold alongside starry-eyed imaginings of cherry bombs staining blackbirds red in “Kamikaze” and dipping one’s toes in the galaxy in the first single “Alligator Sky,” featuring Shawn Chrystopher. Young follows opening track “The Real World” with “Deer in the Headlights,” a playful song about feeling the pressure to be the perfect guy where Adam sings “It's suffocating to say but the female mystique takes my breath away.” Through each song, even the more melancholy ones, such as “Dreams Don’t Turn To Dust” and “Plant Life,” Young retains his ever-present optimism, letting the listener know that no matter how tough times get, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. There are also songs with a dance floor tempo, in particular stand-out tracks “Angels,” “Galaxies” and “The Yacht Club,” which features guest vocals by Canadian singer Lights.The female vocalist on “The Honey and The Bee” is Breanne Düren. She is the vocalist who sang on “Saltwater Room” from Ocean Eyes. Closing track“Plant Life” was co-written with Relient K’s Matthew Thiessen.
Like everyone else, I was hooked by “Fireflies” and “Vanilla Twilight” from Ocean Eyes. At the time, I didn’t even know Adam was a Christian and then he recorded a brilliant cover of “In Christ Alone,” and I’ve been a huge fan ever since. Some of the Christian focused lyrics are found in my favorite song “Galaxies,” which is right after Adam plays a sound clip of President Ronald Reagan speaking about the victims of space shuttle Challenger that exploded on “January 28, 1986.” In the sound clip, Reagan pays tribute to their bravery and how they “touched the face of God.” I got the great opportunity to interview Adam about the song and we spent time discussing these lyrics in “Galaxies”-“For He is the saving grace of the Galaxies! He is the saving grace of the Galaxies! Dear God, I was terribly lost, When the galaxies crossed, And the Sun went dark. Dear God, You're the only North Star, I would follow this far.” He shared that the song is from the perspective of the astronauts before the explosion and is a prayer to God expressing his devotion to Him as “the saving grace of the Galaxies.” Amen.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Something about Owl City’s music that I’ve consistently enjoyed is the ability to escape daily stress and pressures while listening to the songs. Adam Young has a unique gift to make catchy and optimistic songs while still challenging me intellectually. My favorite songs on this very solid album are “Angels,” “Dreams Don’t Turn To Dust,” “Honey and the Bee,” “Galaxies,” “The Yacht Club,” and stunning closing track “Plant Life.” Knowing Adam’s faith as a Christian allows me as listener to share his optimism that we weren’t made for this world. All Things Bright And Beautiful is easily the best alternative music album of the year. I love that this album is chock-full of optimistic messages wrapped around some incredibly hooky beats and dance floor tempos. If you liked Ocean Eyes, you’ll be thrilled by All Things Bright And Beautiful. View All Music And Book Reviews By KevinDavis_NRT | View KevinDavis_NRT's Profile
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