Album Review: Ocean Eyes by Owl City is one of the best synth-pop albums I have ever heard.

Title: Ocean Eyes

Creator: Adam Young (Owl City)

Published By: Public Universal Records

Release Date: July 28, 2009

Available: Spotify, iTtunes, Amazon, Target

Owl City’s electronic music album titled Ocean Eyes is a truly wondrous and beautiful collection of songs. The album is filled with emotion as Adam Young, the man behind the music, sings about the different ups and downs he’s experienced during his lifetime. The complex, synthesized music sets the mood while Adam’s clean vocals overlay it with a light tone. The album sounds overall poetic but strange and dream-like with the electronic synthesizers. It is truly one of the best electronic pop albums I have ever listened to.

Ocean Eyes was originally released in 2009 by Public Universal Records, with the vinyl version released the same year and the deluxe version in 2010. The music in this album is very poetic and emotional, as many of the songs are about love, heartbreak, loss, and thoughts. This piece of art is not plain at all with its alien-like sound mixed in with its interesting themes. Some other electronic music artists that I’ve heard don’t seem to be nearly as interesting as this specific album. It all sounds the same, repeating the same things over and over again. However, Adam conveys these themes (along with other ones) in such an abstract way that at one point Ocean Eyes was the second most bought album in America. The songs are also relatable, as Adam sings about common things that many people can connect with such as fear, anxiety, wonder, love, etc. For example, the track “The Saltwater Room” is about whether or not he and a girl are actually in love. It is a little more complex than just a typical “I love you” type of song.
Ocean Eyes is a really nice change in what I am used to hearing. Even though this specific collection of songs is outstanding in many ways, though, it does have its downsides. It can be pretty repetitive musically and fast-paced, which is not something that people usually like in a music album. Most of the tracks are not very long, making the album seem shorter, as there are only fourteen songs on it in total. The synthesized rhythms on many of the songs seem overused, too, with many of them sounding somewhat similar. Otherwise, Ocean Eyes is actually pretty entertaining, with very few flaws. It is definitely worth your time in listening to it.