This selection was chosen by Gen Z son.

Gen X dad says… Owl City is the synth pop moniker of Iowa native Adam Randal Young. He released a couple of Owl City records independently before making his major-label debut with Ocean Eyes in 2009. Fireflies, the first single from the album, was released in July 2009 and subsequently went six-times platinum. The album itself hit the top 10 on the US charts. Not bad for a guy who had been working in a Coca-Cola warehouse just a few years prior.

On first listening to Ocean Eyes you’d be forgiven for thinking that the Postal Service finally released another album. Something that might happen around the time that the Smiths reunite. The Postal Service’s sole release, 2003’s Give Up, echoes throughout this record. But, Young manages to build pretty well on the template created by them. As Gen Z son noted, Young can write about good dental hygiene (Dental Care) and make a good song.

Overall Ocean Eyes is a pleasant and enjoyable listen. There’s nothing terribly groundbreaking about it, but that’s not really the point. It is a solid collection of generally well-crafted synth pop songs tinged with a bit of emo melancholy. The songs might not stick with you an hour after you listen them, but you’ll probably end up going back and enjoying them again.

Highlights for me were Hello Seattle, The Saltwater Room, On The Wing, and Tidal Wave.

Gen Z son says… It’s bound to happen to pretty much anyone, but the internet has introduced me to many great bands and artists, among them Adam Young, aka Owl City. Thanks to his song Fireflies reaching #1 in many countries, and then becoming an internet meme, he gained a cult following soon after he released his debut album, Ocean Eyes.

It’s very easy to see why Young’s music is a favorite of so many people – not only because of his upbeat melodies, poetically ironic lyrics, and hard-hitting house beats, but also his often discussed similarities to the legendary Postal Service, a very popular indie band among many rock fans, along with his massive faith in Christianity, which he talks about in many of his songs. But alas, despite its wide range of qualities, this album does have some weak moments.

My main complaint about it is the song structure. It doesn’t follow a standard verse-chorus-verse-chorus form a lot and most of the time, the songs progress like a poem would. Sometimes this can make a song really powerful, for example Dental Care or Vanilla Twilight, but occasionally it can make a song a bit uninteresting, which leads to said song just feeling like bland filler.

Other than that, Ocean Eyes is a very upbeat record which will definitely brighten your day.