Review: The Midsummer Station

Months ago when I heard that Owl City's new album, The Midsummer Station, was going to be characterized by "collaboration", a red flag went up immediately. Adam Young, Owl City's sole member and self-described "extreme introvert", has before now written his musical magic mostly by himself in his basement studio Sky Harbor and that seems to be the way he likes it. I also knew that Owl City's previous album All Things Bright and Beautiful had underperformed when compared with the surprise chart-topper Ocean Eyes, so I suspected these "collaborations" were studio shenanigans. When I saw the list of of people Adam young would be collaborating with, I knew I was right. Young has collaborated in the past, but always with fellow artists (e.g. Matt Thiessen on "Fireflies", Lights on "The Yacht Club"). The collaborations on The Midsummer Station mostly consisted of writers and producers who specialize in radio hits.

Now that I actually own The Midsummer Station and have listened to it multiple times, here is my track-by-track review: 

Dreams and Disasters: The Midsummer Station starts on a reasonably good note. I like the overall sound of "Dreams and Disasters", even if it gets a bit repetitive by the song's end.

Shooting Star: This one is an unintentional heart-breaker. Earlier in the year, Owl City released a preview EP (i.e. The Shooting Star EP) with four songs from The Midsummer Station and this is the last song I had listened to on it. The first three songs ("Gold", "Take It All Away", and "Dementia") sounded nothing like Owl City and I realized I was right about the studio shenanigans and was feeling depressed. When I played "Shooting Star" my expectations were low, but when I heard the soft synth intro, my heart stopped. It sounded like Owl City! The first verse was good, keeping the soft sound and having Owl City's trademark dreamy lyrics... and then the chorus happened. The booming beat kicked in, the self-esteem boosting lyrics began and from there "Shooting Star" turns into a Katy Perry song. The intro still breaks my heart; it's like listening to a bird stuck in a cage.

Gold: This is the only song I flat-out don't like on the album. The overly-simplistic chorus doesn't sound pleasant to my ears at all. I'm generally not a fan of booming beat songs (for lack of a better term) and this is no exception.

Dementia: Pop punk is one of my favourite genres , so naturally I like this song. Adam Young worked with Mark Hoppus from Blink 182 on this one. It still sounds nothing like Owl City, but at least its a genre that I like.

I'm Coming After You: This one has a "Deer In the Headlights"/Relient K-ish vibe and I like it for the most part. The siren sound effects on the chorus are kind of... embarrassing though. It should have either been an actual siren, or no siren at all (maybe a better option).

Speed of Love: A decent song, but not very memorable.

Good Time: I'll admit it. I quite like this song. It's really catchy and fun. It adds some pep to my step, but it doesn't give me the fulfilling sense of happiness that classic Owl City does.

Embers: Like most songs on The Midsummer Station, I have mixed feelings on "Embers". Overall, I like the verses (Adam Young pulls off hyperbole very well), but the chorus comes off as trite to me. It's trying too hard to be a self-help song and doesn't sound natural. I swear this song was written by the "It Gets Better" campaign.

Silhouette: Good old "Silhouette", the only song that Adam Young wrote by himself. This is understandably the the most personal song on The Midsummer Station and one of its treasures.

Metropolis: Many reviewers are saying that "Silhouette" is the song that sounds the most like Owl City (some even say it's the only song on here that sounds like Owl City). It seems the obvious choice as it's the only song written exclusively by Adam Young, but honestly I think "Metropolis" is closest to the Owl City vibe that I've come to know and love. Yes, this song is co-written, but it's co-written with none other than Matt Thiessen from Relient K. Adam Young and Matt Thiessen have worked together in the past ("The Bird and the Worm", "Fireflies", "Tidal Wave", and "Plant Life"). Whenever they write together, Thiessen's handiwork is evident, but the song still remains undeniably Owl City-esque. "Metropolis" is no exception. Sound-wise, "Metropolis" has the sweeping synth and string melodies that Adam Young does so well and is noticeably absent from the rest of the album (the rest of the album typically settles for club beats) and combines it with a Euro-trance beat remniscient of "The Yacht Club". Lyrically, this song reminds me of early Owl City (e.g. "The Technicolor Phase", "Swimming in Miami"). "Metropolis" is my favourite song on the album by far and I suspect this would have been the overall feel of The Midsummer Station had the collaborations not happened.

Take It All Away: The Midsummer Station ends on an interesting note. "Take It All Away" sounds like a ninties boyband, but it's surprisingly endearing.

Overall, I'm surprised I liked The Midsummer Station as much as I do. After hearing The Shooting Star EP and seeing who Adam Young was "collaborating" with, I was expecting to hate this album. Now that I've heard it, I have to admit, for what it's trying to do, it does it well. The Midsummer Station is mostly a collection of fun pop songs that will get your foot tapping. However my ultimate disappointment with this album is not that it's so bad, but that Owl City's old stuff was so good. Owl City was like nothing I had ever heard before and "Fireflies" was a total break from every other radio phenomenon. Owl City evokes a precious innocence and beauty that is hard to find anywhere, much less on Top 40 radio. Only Adam Young could create the musical magic of Owl City, and I think that his incredible talent and imagination is going to waste on The Midsummer Station. Even though most of the songs are enjoyable, they're very forgettable and unoriginal. If I didn't know who Owl City was and I heard a song like "Gold" or "Speed of Love" on the radio I wouldn't take any notice. I might even change the channel. I'm hesitant to even call most of these songs "Owl City songs" (except for "Metropolis" and "Silhouette"), because other than Adan Young's voice there's little to no similarity between these songs and his older songs. Lyrically, this album tries too hard to be a self-esteem booster, which I don't think is necessary. I've heard a few stories of a pre-The Midsummer Station Owl City song saving someone from suicide and I believe it. Listening to Owl City can give the listener a new faith in anything from life to God to beauty. He never had to say that his listeners are "shooting stars" or "it gets better", because the focus wasn't on ourselves, it was on the beauty around us (I'm trying not to sound cheesy here, but it's hard to describe my love for Owl City's music without being cheesy); be it a beach, architecture, a hot air balloon, or the Northern Lights. Heck, a song like "The Yacht Club" doesn't exactly make the listener feel good about themselves and is actually pretty self-deprecating, but it never fails to put a smile on my face. But again, we aren't the point. Here's hoping Adam Young will be able to go back to his solo roots (with the occasional collaboration with a fellow artist), and the sounds of Owl City will be heard again. 

Adam Young: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5044/5291183863_e14f777b94_z.jpg

The Midsummer Station: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Midsummer_Station