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Rating: Perhaps you occasionally feel the need for a break, between an album by Sigur Ros, another by Sonic Youth, and the first Amnesiac you see on the street. Maybe you feel the need to listen to something simple and not too demanding, yet still of a certain quality. Does that happen to you? Well, it does to me, and I maintain that the album I'm writing about is the perfect exemplification of what I'm describing.
"Ocean Eyes" was released in the heart of the summer of 2010 and hit my ears like a pleasant cyclone. It's the second album by (or of) Owl City, a one-man band whose real name is Adam Young, a hopeful 25-year-old American musician. It consists of about forty minutes of synth-pop made of bubbly keyboards, synthetic sounds and programmed drums, sugary melodies easy to remember and sing. Melodies that, even though they may be a bit light, stick in your ears for a long time, providing an unexpected sense of relief.
It's impossible to resist the little keyboards and sound ornaments in Cave In, just as one can't resist the verse sung in easily understandable academic English. The sugary tunes and glitz appear everywhere, producing twelve slightly similar tracks yet with irresistible cheerfulness. Similarly, there's the minimal guitar, almost dance-like electronic voices, and the easy refrain (with friends like these/ who needs enemies) of The Bird And The Worm. Umbrella Beach is also excellent, lively and danceable, while the calmer Fireflies and Hello Seattle grow on simpler structures with less intrusive production, if I may say so: always omnipresent little keyboards and an almost distorted solitary voice. Fireflies turned out to be an excellent single that stayed in the Billboard chart for several weeks (despite very limited promotion, it even reached number 1 here in Italy), while Hello Seattle was surprisingly ignored. Again, another song that captivates with its simplicity is Saltwater Room: a guitar, a keyboard, and Adam's voice intertwines with Breanne Duren's sultry vocals.
A little less convincing, if only for the lyrics, is Dental Care, which you'll truly appreciate only if, like the protagonist of the song, you have years of experience with dentists. Additionally, songs like Meteor Shower, On The Wing, or Vanilla Twilight revert to meticulous productions, multiple electronic layers, and various overlapping synthetic voices; on the other hand, The Trip Of The Iceberg or Tidal Wave offers us yet more catchy and carefree choruses.
Everything flows smoothly and spontaneously, without blemishes, without the moments of boredom or nausea that often strike with albums of this type. In this case, however, we have a simple and enjoyable album that, I repeat, against all odds, doesn't exhaust its appeal in a month; an album that as of 2012, hasn't lost its freshness at all, and certainly not because it's January. Indeed, take it to the beach this summer as an alternative to the South American junk. Because this is an excellent album for the summer. And for all those who never gave up on the disappearance of the Postal Service.
7.5
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
05 The Saltwater Room (04:02)
I opened my eyes last night and saw you in the low light
Walking down by the bay on the shore
Staring up at the stars that aren't there anymore
I was feeling the night grow old and you were looking so cold
So like an introvert, I drew my over shirt
Around my arms and began to shiver violently
Before you happened to look and see the tunnels all around me
Running into the dark underground
All the subways around create a great sound
To my motion fatigue, farewell with your ear to a seashell
You can hear the waves in underwater caves
As if you actually were inside a saltwater room
Time together isn't ever quite enough
When you and I are alone, I've never felt so at home
What will it take to make or break this hint of love?
Only time, only time
Can you believe that the crew has gone?
And they wouldn't let me sign on
All my islands have sunk in the deep
And I can hardly relax or even oversleep
When I feel warm with your hand in mine
When we walk along the shoreline
I guess we'll never know why sparrows love the snow
We'll turn out all of the lights and set this ballroom aglow
So tell me darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?
Yeah, all the time, all the time
Time together isn't ever quite enough
When you and I are alone, I've never felt so at home
What will it take to make or break this hint of love?
Only time, only time
When we're apart what ever are you thinking of?
If this is what I call home, why does it feel so alone?
So tell me darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?
All the time, all the time
Time together isn't ever quite enough
When we're apart what ever are you thinking of?
What will it take to make or break this hint of love?
So tell me darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?
All the time, oh, all the time
09 Fireflies (03:48)
You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep
'Cause they fill the open air,
And leave teardrops everywhere
You'd think me rude, but I would just stand and... stare
I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems
'Cause I get a thousand hugs
From ten thousand lightning bugs
As they try to teach me how to dance
A foxtrot above my head,
A sock hop beneath my bed,
A disco ball is just hanging by a thread (thread, thread)
I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems (when I fall asleep)
Leave my door open just a crack
(Please take me away from here)
'Cause I feel like such an insomniac
(Please take me away from here)
Why do I tire of counting sheep?
(Please take me away from here)
When I'm far too tired to fall asleep
To ten million fireflies
I'm weird 'cause I hate good-byes
I got misty eyes as they said farewell (they said farewell)
But I'll know where several are
If my dreams get real bizarre
'Cause I saved a few and I keep them in a jar(jar, jar, jar)
I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems (when I fall asleep)
I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems (when I fall asleep)
I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
Because my dreams are bursting at the seams
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