All Things Bright And Beautiful

Owl City | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 14, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Universal Republic
• ASIN: B004T5IW0C
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,831 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #12 in Music > Dance & DJ > Electronica
  • #56 in Music > Christian > Pop & Contemporary
  • #100 in Music > Pop > Dance Pop > General AAS

Track Listings

1. The Real World

2. Deer In the Headlights

3. Angels

4. Dreams Don't Turn To Dust

5. Honey and the Bee

6. Kamikaze

7. January 28, 1986

8. Galaxies

9. Hospital Flowers

10. Alligator Sky (feat. Shawn Chrystopher)

11. The Yacht Club

12. Plant Life

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

In the state of Minnesota lies a small town called Owatonna with roughly twenty-two thousand inhabitants; within that city is a quiet road with a modest house. In that house there's an unkempt basement with no windows. Within those confines you'll find Adam Young of Owl City hard at work, creating his electronic and melodically infectious brand of music with a simple and singular beauty. Inside this "cave," as Adam likes to describe it, he has begun to quickly win over a large audience thirsty for something genuine, something sublime.

Being an only child in a small town, and having no musicians in his immediate family, Adam is hard pressed to say how it all started. Explaining that he always had a "push" to be creative, Adam picked up his first guitar in junior high school. Growing up in a "sheltered bubble" and being one of the more shy kids around the neighborhood, Adam seemed compelled to lend his time and creative ideas to music. "I've always been the shy guy, I don't see that changing, but I definitely feel a lot more comfortable than I anticipated. I can hide behind the music."

While his music continues to win followers all over the world, Adam does indeed hide behind his music, not going by his real name (See: Badly Drawn Boy and Dashboard Confessional); but going by the moniker Owl City. Adam was searching more for a mood when coming up with a title for his sound, rather than something easily identifiable. He goes on to explain that most of the artists that catch his eye have something unique about their name, something that lingers.

So one has to ask: how did this Owl City phenomenon begin? How does a young artist writing songs underneath his garage, acoustic foam and books everywhere, reach an audience of millions? "I'm still trying to figure it out," Adam laughs. "Back in June of 2007 it kind of started on a whim. My parents were away for the weekend, and wanting to be loud and make some noise and whatever, I began writing versions of what became my first, self released cd - Of June. I put it up on MySpace the following month and didn't tell anyone."

Word of mouth began to spread for Adam's music, with demands coming from various parts of the country for an album. Maybe I'm Dreaming, released in March of 2008, was Owl City's full length debut. The album has garnered great critical praise and is a clear representation of Owl City's progression as an artist. Adam has become a phenomenon on MySpace with over 6 million profile views and over 25 million plays, which is outstanding in such a short span of time. It's clear that, from his basement, Owl City is making a colossal impact on the music scene.

What might be swirling through his head after such a quick and sudden start at stardom? "The biggest thing I was concerned-slash-worried about was the live performance - never having played a show as `Owl City.' There was a lot of apprehension." Adam's concern, about being a one-man wizard on the keyboard, "hunched over a computer," was put to the test recently with his first gig. Most, if not all, of his fears were quickly put to rest as Adam played to a sold out show in Minneapolis. "It was surreal," Adam says, "to have people buying your t-shirts, singing the words - louder than I was; it felt so good."

As listeners on MySpace climb into the millions, Owl City is focused on writing more songs, getting more comfortable on stage, and satisfying a fan base that is growing and eagerly anticipating new material. With a new album scheduled for a fall release, Adam's future is as exciting, expansive and as mellifluous as his music. "I've loved every minute of it so far, and I'm looking forward to what's going to happen next." So are we.

Product Description

Owl City's Adam Young, a 24-year-old small-town Minnesotan who had never been on an airplane until two years ago, has experienced many extraordinary moments over the past 18 months, including calling his mom back home on his cellphone while standing on The Great Wall of China. Young's travels came in the wake of the blockbuster success of Owl City's major-label debut album -- the lush, lovingly created Ocean Eyes, which was released by Universal Republic Records in July 2009. Filled with whimsical melodies and blissful beats, Ocean Eyes topped the Billboard Rock, Alternative, and Dance/Electronic charts and was certified platinum in the U.S. The album spawned the quadruple-platinum single "Fireflies," which hit No. 1 in 24 countries including the U.S. (twice), and sold more than four million downloads. Its eye-popping success has made Owl City an international phenomenon, shifting nearly 12 million tracks worldwide, selling out headlining shows in the U.S., Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, and racking up more than 98 million total plays on MySpace. Young's adventures are evocatively detailed on the impossibly catchy electro-pop songs that make up Owl City's self-produced new album, All Things Bright and Beautiful, which finds Young expanding his sonic palette as he takes his listeners into a verdant musical dreamland on such tracks as first single "Alligator Sky," "The Real World," and "Dreams Don't Turn To Dust." Throughout the album, Young retains his trademark optimism, letting the listener know that no matter how tough times get, there's always light at the end of the tunnel. "I would feel weird if I were to communicate anything other than optimism, because it's just who I am," Young says. "It's always been in me to make Owl City a vehicle that sends a hopeful message. As a listener, I'm drawn to things that are really uplifting. When a certain melody grabs my ear, it makes me feel like I could be a better person."