the 31 best of 2008 – 10: Owl City – Maybe I’m Dreaming

A fellow flickr friend introduced me to Owl City earlier this year, and I have to send him a huge THANK YOU; their album Maybe I’m Dreaming is so fresh, fun, fluffy, and fabulous that I could not get enough of it in 2008 (oh yeah, you know you loved that alliteration). Maybe I’m Dreamingmay be the only non-signed, self-produced record on my countdown; and it goes to show that you don’t need a major label to churn out fantastic music. What drew me to Owl City so fervently, were the saccharine sweet pops and beats, mixed so smoothly with keyboards and synthesizers; which is all drizzled lovingly with the sweet vocals of Owl City’s creator, Adam Young. This album is fluffier than a cloud, and listening to it makes you want to lay in a meadow and enjoy a nice spring breeze, while you carelessly watch the day go by.

One of the best things about Adam’s music, is how amazing he is at crafting beautiful and cleverly written lyrics; the rhythmic method he uses on this album is just pristine. After hearing Maybe I’m Dreamingone time, it was instant love, and it really reminded me of a couple of my other favorite bands; most notably, the Postal Service, and Hellogoodbye. In fact, I believe that if you took the Postal Service, and made them into a little bunny rabbit, and then allowed them to have sweet little wings, and watched them fly through a crystal filled sky, you would have Owl City.

As silly as these descriptions may sound, it really is the airiness and sheer joy in the lyrics, music, and sounds that come from this album that make it so simply blissful and thoroughly enjoyable. I am so glad that I was introduced to the amazing sounds of Owl City this year, because this is the type of music that I live for; it makes you happy, it lifts you up, and it takes your ears for a truly wonderful journey of sound. It also makes you wonder, that if there are people out there making music this wonderful without a backing record contract, then why are there so many shitty acts churning out crappy record after record, filling the spaces on the radio that would be better served with a healthy helping of Owl City!? Seriously, folks, this album is purely magical, and everyone should run to their computers, and download it from iTunes/Amazonimmediately. You NEED this record in your collection; everyone needs to be filled with the joy that Owl City has to give. The only negative thing I have to say about Owl City, is to point to the aforementioned injustice that prevents the record companies from seeing such amazing potential and execution from amazing artists like Owl City, because I am not exaggerating here… everything about this album is amazing.

Sparkle Factor:
Stand Outs: The Saltwater Room
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_44_owlcity-thesaltwaterroom.mp3]
On The Wing, Rainbow Veins, Early Birdie, Air Traffic, Super Honeymoon, I’ll Meet You There.