Thursday, January 28, 2010

Owl City:: Ocean Eyes Review

Track listiing::

1. "Cave In" (featuring Matthew Thiessen)
4:02
2. "The Bird and The Worm" (featuring Matthew Thiessen)
3:27
3. "Hello Seattle"
2:42
4. "Umbrella Beach"
3:50
5. "The Saltwater Room" (featuring Breanne Düren)
4:02
6. "Dental Care"
3:11
7. "Meteor Shower"
2:14
8. "On the Wing"
5:04
9. "Fireflies" (featuring Matthew Thiessen)
3:48
10. "The Tip of the Iceberg"
3:22
11. "Vanilla Twilight"
3:51
12. "Tidal Wave" (featuring Matthew Thiessen)

In a music scene full of songs about rehab, sex, dissapointment all other sad and tragic events, Owl City comes as a breath of fresh air. With catchy melodies and soothing vocals Adam Young takes the listener on an incredible melodic odyssey which makes you want to tap your feet and move to the groove, within minutes you will find yourself smiling.The singles "fireflies" and "Hello Seattle" give an insight to the mood of the album, "Cave In" has a nice rhythmic loop which keeps up the upbeat groove og the song. The mellow tracks like "Vanilla Twilight" and "Meteor Shower" add to the variation of the album. To many owl city's lyrics may seem something right out of Enid Blyton books, but its the simplicity of the lyrics which add to the relaxing feel of the song, with no hidden or darker meanings these songs are meant to make u smile and get lost in Adam Young's wonderland. After hearing "Tidal Wave" you will find yourself wanting to put it on a loop and lie down.

well my rating for the album would be 4/5 starts

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Saosin- In Search Of Solid Ground


Well comparing ISOSG with their debut S/T or evn Translating The Name, one thing is evident
guitarist Justin Shekoski seems to have lost the will to play. His inspiring and intriguing riffs seem to be absent from most of the songs, but on the other hand saosin seems to have developed sonically tracks like "Deep Down" and "Fireflies" show how the band has come a long way from their screamo roots.

The most weird thing about ISOSG is that though the album may not sound impressive at first run, it gradually starts to grow on you. To many fans (saokids) the album will sound like a label pressured album with mainly radio friendly tracks, whether its the structure of the songs or the typical lyrics. As many will agree Cove Reber seems to have outdone himself in this album with tracks like "nothing is what it seems", "The Alarming Sound of a Still Small Voice" and "Why Can't You See", personally i prefer the bonus tracks like "You Never Noticed Me" seem to be more SAOsounding tracks, "Bury Me" is also one solid track i would have loved on the album and "Move slow" as we finally see the glimpse of the Justin Shekoski we know. As many would say that the band sold out to the label, i believe that this album has more of the saosin and less of the label. This album shows how the band has matured over the years and their will to keep on growing instead of relying on the easy formula of churning out the same sound which has worked for them previously. On a personal note i'd still like more of Mr.Shekoski's signature melodic riffs.The track "The Worst of Me" has to be the worst track of the album sounding overproduced and suffocating, "What Were We Made For?" is one of the refreshing tracks along with "Say Goodbye",i fail to understand the unnecessary stretching of "On My Own" and "Is This Real" seems like a listen and forget track.

all in all i would give the album 3.5/5 stars