Ocean Eyes

Owl City | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 28, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Republic
• ASIN: B002ECN4NM
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (222 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,292 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #9 in Music > Indie Music > Dance & DJ > Electronica
  • #10 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Electronic Pop
  • #51 in Music > Christian > Praise & Worship

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

In the state of Minnesota lies a small town called Owatonna with roughly twentytwo 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 on his electronic and melodically infectious music of 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 digital EP - 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 digitally 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 more than 7 million profile views and 40 million plays, which is outstanding in such a short span of time. It's clear that Owl City is making a colossal impact on the music scene. As listeners on MySpace climb into the tens of millions, Owl City gets set to release his latest creation, Ocean Eyes. Loaded with amazing loops, catchy pickups, and lyrics that soothe the mind and touch the heart, Adam Young has once again created a lush listening experience. Owl City's trademark desire to escape in dreams, oceans and sky abound on this, his first official CD, in songs such as "Cave In" and "Umbrella Beach." Adam also continues to display a terrific wit uncommon in most electronic based music in such songs as the clap infused, bouncy "Dental Care" (a humorous metaphor on smiling) and "Fireflies." Given the official compact disc treatment, previously released fan favorite "Hello Seattle" gives the great Northwest its' due with an ode to highlands, parking lots, Puget Sound and albatross. With glorious vocal harmonies ("The Saltwater Room") and touching odes to love lost ("Vanilla Twilight") Adam has dug more deeply on Ocean Eyes lyrically and musically than ever.

Product Description

2009 sophomore release from the Minnesota-based Electro-Rock outfit AKA singer/songwriter Adam Young. 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. Loaded with amazing loops, catchy pickups, and lyrics that soothe the mind and touch the heart, Adam Young has once again created a lush listening experience. Owl City's trademark desire to escape in dreams, oceans and sky abound on songs such as 'Cave In' and 'Umbrella Beach.' With glorious vocal harmonies and touching odes to love lost, Adam has dug more deeply on Ocean Eyes, lyrically and musically, than ever.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five-star music here, July 28, 2009

By 

Kathy Gall - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ocean Eyes (Audio CD)

I've quickly become a fan of Owl City in the past three or four months, and I do not in the least bit regret the time I've spent being awed by the musical greatness of Adam Young's music, or the money I've used to buy so many of his songs. They are beautiful, creative, inspiring, and amazing. Adam's music is so beautiful, because 1) it's different than what you hear on the radio, but still something that deserves a spot on the charts and 2) the lyrics are bursting with feeling, and it's so hard to stop yourself from being pulled into the songs.
So you'll just have to believe me when I say that this is the band you have been waiting for.
I've found that it's nearly impossible to feel sad when listening to Owl City, and the music somehow seems to hide away my tears for a later date. I've been influenced so much by this one man. He is amazing. The music just gets better and better, and even the songs that aren't singles--those ones are just as perfect. This music is flawless, and it seems to come so naturally from Mr. Young. He's got talent, and I mean it when I say that.
If you don't care about buying a stupid album from a band that someone might call "weird", then at least listen to some of the samples. Or check out the free song, "Fireflies". It's a musical masterpiece. You'll be so glad you did.
With that said, let me leave it at this--Owl City is what smiles sound like.

73 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Syrup? Maybe. Amazingly produced? Yes., December 3, 2009

By 

Edwincnelson "Ed" (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ocean Eyes (Audio CD)

You'll see a lot of media claptrap about Owl City being a Postal Service knockoff. This is mostly because people in general are sheep who can't look beyond the only similarities (the voices, electronic music, general tone) to look more critically at two albums (Give Up vs Ocean Eyes) and see they don't have that much in common. For anyone who follows their music it becomes apparent that Jimmy Tamborello and Adam Young get to some of the same places in very different ways and both can be very entertaining.

What you will notice about Ocean Eyes is that even when the tone and lyrics go a little overboard in the sap department you can be absolutely dazzled by the mindbogglingly intricate production, and the fervent attention to detail that has been put into this album. Literally every moment of this CD has been filled with some kind of hook. Often the foreground and background mixes are fading in and out from each other with a keen understanding of how long to linger on any individual beat, when to separate, and then when to join them back together. For anyone who has actually sat down a tried to do this you know how hard it is to make it right. Owl City gets it right on almost every track. The result is a house feel that never overstays its welcome a always feels fresh. The deep, layered instrumentation is almost the polar opposite of Jimmy Tamborello's much more minimalist approach, and it works just as well from the opposite direction. The depth of the album is only added to by the tight adherence to its concept. All the tracks work together to make a real album in its entirety. A welcome change. Technically, this is the event horizon of Pro Tools recording.

Ignore the haters. This is one of the best mainstream electronic music releases this year, and for those who enjoy hearing a master DJ who can (gasp!) actually play a few instruments... well you'll love this album.

31 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Simple, Happy, Diary Scribbling, November 9, 2009

By 

Hayden R. Deck (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ocean Eyes (MP3 Download)

Overall Grade: B
Hilights: Hello Seattle, Dental Care, Fireflies

The suspicion here is that Ben Gibbard of The Postal Service changed names, switched bands, and gave in to the increasingly popular auto-tune. "Ocean Eyes" is fresh and corny, delivering the kind of tunes that you can't really tell apart on your first listen or two. Combining witty lyrics like "I'd rather pick flowers than fights" with club beats and melodic warbles makes this record a sort of hipster dance party, ensuring that the emo movement isn't dying, it's just adapting to the pop culture. Expect something simple and ordinary, wonderful if you're into diary scribbling, and so happy that it's almost awkward.