Midsummer Lullabies

Last week two albums I was waiting for quite some time finally hit iTunes, and of course I need to tell you more about them. I guess it is quite obvious that one is from my favourite artist Owl City called The Midsummer Station.

But before I tackle that, please take your time to read another review because it's about an EP I was extreeemely excited for as well! I'm talking about The Campfire Lullabies by a duo called Glacier Island, consisting of Andy and Tony from the project Windsor Airlift. I started listening to their first EP From Pelican Shores some months ago and absolutely fell in love with that ocean-themed EP full of happy synths and cute lyrics. So now, their seconds EP is finally out!

After their absolutely awesome first EP I had kinda high expectations for this one, but as soon as I heard some previews and demos of the songs on it, I just couldn't wait to finally play it on my iTunes. Because it is, indeed, and extremely fantastic album because it has everything I currently love about music - sweet synths paired with beautiful lyrics. The EP is very nature-summer-themed and the songs are about driving through the night, lying beneath the skies, sitting at a campfire, watching meteor showers and being waistdeep in memories and nostalgia. I really love how simple and lightweigh but yet captivating the songs are. Night Drive for example starts with these deep beats until that catchy melody starts - heavy eyes, drowsy from the long night drive ...I really love it, and it's also one of my favourite songs on the EP next to Nostalgia, Something That I Read In A Book and Colors. Especially the last song blew me away because it had some rap in the chorus which just sounds extremely cool and makes me want to jump and try out some really dorky rap moves. Another very good song on it is called Blue & Gray which starts out very awesome with a very pure voice singing in a rather speedy tempo and the acoustic guitars playing beautifully together. At the end it is dragging a bit because of the many repititions, but the first part is absolutely beautiful.

I can only suggest everybody who is a fan of electronic music to listen to that album or the previous one. I tell that nearly everybody because sometimes it's such a bummer that Glacier Island are kinda unknown and underappreciated although they are so awesome people and also really put effort in their contact with fans. So YOU, yes YOU, go listen NOW, HERE. :-)

Okay, because you have now (hopefully;)) clicked that link you are officially awesome and also allowed to continue reading ..... about Owl City.

I was really excited about this album although I knew it wouldn't be quite like his previous ones. At first I had very mixed feelings about this, I needed some time to get used to the Shooting Star EP and his first single Good Time which he perfoms together with Carly Rae Jepsen.

But I bought the album, of course, because I knew it was still Adam and I could recognize him in the songs the more I played them. I got into this record way quicklier than I thought I would and now I am playing it all the time. The songs are bigger, more polished as Adam used to say, they have Rock and Dubstep influences and regarding the lyrics, you can find anything from a simple "Who-ho-ho it's always a good time" to something more imaginative and Adam-like, for example "I tried to disappear but you're the only reason I'm floating here, eyes painted crystal clear I can see our future through the atmosphere" from Speed of Love. Actually most of the lyrics are deeper than they sound at first, for example I assume that I'm Coming After You is more about the hide-and-seek game you can have with a person you love than about a hot pursuit through the city. Plus, I adore the messages some of the songs communicate. Shooting Star and Embers definitely belong to my favourite tracks on the album because they are both very uplifting, encouraging, about rising above your bad days and making the best out of everything. They are like anthems to leave the past behind and be the person you always wanted to be. I always loved Adam for his optimism, and these songs capture it to the highest.

Actually I really like all of the new songs, except from two. I don't feel Metropolis at all for some reason. It's a nice song, the lyrics are okay and the instrumentals are good but it just doesn't touch me at all which is awkward for an Owl City song. Maybe I'll get into it, but right now I just feel that something I can't really describe is wrong with it. Also I am really not into Bombshell Blonde at all, to say it in a nice way. I actually only listened to that 4 times (and once I was to lazy to skip it). I have no idea what got into Adam and Matthew in writing that song whose lyrics are just bad, and like the opposite of how Adam usually sings about women. I just can hope this is some kind of joke, a fun song, not serious. But I am indeed really disappointed about that.

Another song I would like to tackle is Silhouette. When I listened to the preview first, I was literally blown away and when I got the album, I was extremely excited to listen to the whole song. Adam's ballads have all always been close to my heart, songs like Vanilla Twilight and Lonely Lullaby are both in my iTunes Top10. Silhouette is indeed an fantastic song. It's very pure, and the lyrics are really sad. On the livestream he said that it's probably the most personal song he has ever written and I appreciate it so much that he shared it with us. Don't get me wrong, I really love that song, but I think there might be a special spark missing like I feel with many of the new songs. I could relate much better to the fuzzy, imaginative songs which created a so nostalgic and blurry atmosphere instead of saying right away that the person in the song has cried all night. It just sounds too real that way, and I don't like real things.

But yeah, all in all, I really, really, really love that album though. Although I honestly was hoping for another record like Maybe I'm Dreaming (which is my favourite), it's totally okay that Adam wanted to try something else out. I like how I have songs by him which are more dancy without being dumb like dancy radio songs often are. Although it's very awkward saying that, but he might really be growing up, his voice is much stronger and he appears to be more self-confident in interviews as well. I like that. Moreover the songs make me extremely excited for my concert in Ghent. I can't wait to jam to them, but until then I'll do my best to memorize all the lyrics and blast them as often as I can. Because yes, Adam has done a great job - again. As always, and I am a bit guilty I ever doubted that.

What do you think of The Midsummer Station or even the EP by Glacier Island? Which songs do you like and which not? Just leave a comment below and tell me :)