Adam Young is charming. Don't deny it; you heard Fireflies last year, and you were instantly struck by the sincerity in his voice. He released an album last year; Ocean Eyes, which cemented his Owl City project as synth-pop's brightest light. Owl City's back about a year later. Can the sophomore effort build on the solid foundations of the debut?Well, yes and no.
ATBaB feels much more experimental than Ocean Eyes, on every aspect. Young tries to mix up the sound this time around; it feels bigger than what can be accomplished by this specific project. Each track, but more apparent in Dreams Don't Turn To Dust, does feel ambitious in grandeur, yet a little flat lyrically.
There's much more focus on a solid guitar sound this time around. Honey and the Bee and Angels does have a very audible guitar line, which is a welcome break from the sheer velocity of electro-pop thrown at you during this experience.
But fans of the project will want more of the same, surely? Young's catered for those fans also. Deer in the Headlights and Alligator Sky may as well be Ocean Eyes tracks. But that's the sound that drew us to Owl City in the first place. While it is, essentially, more of the same, they are songs that you will feel a warmth listening to.
Strangely enough Young feels the need to reference the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster, with two track slots taken up by songs around the events (January 28th, 1986 and Galaxies).
In all, ATBAB is a solid effort from Owl City. While in no way an entire revamp of the Owl City project, it does have its charms. For some it's more of the same from Adam Young, but it does shake it up enough to justify a release. If you liked Owl City before hand, you won't not like it now.
Essential Downloads:
- Angels
- Deer in the Headlights
- Alligator Sky
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