Owl City – Religious Music in Disguise? A Review

This past June, Owl City, the synthpop artist who became well know for his hit song Fireflies, released a new album entitled “All Things Bright and Beautiful”. At first glance, you might not notice anything in the name but it is actually the same as a religious church hymn. In this album, the religious side of Adam Young (Owl City) has a very prominent focus. Young’s previous hit album, Ocean Eyes, has some subtle religious aspects that go unnoticed to many people and  I only noticed them recently. For example in “Meteor Shower” he sings “I am not my own” which is a variation of 1 Corinthians 6:19 and inside of the cover of Ocean Eyes is a small and easily overlooked written dedication to Christ. So has this new album (All Things Bright and Beautiful) with a religious focus gone mainstream? According to the charts, yes, and this is a very unusual event, given the lyrics of the songs that often take up positions in the charts. While I wouldn’t classify “All Things Bright and Beautiful” as strictly a religious album, religion does play a big influence in the lyrics.

Review (By Track):

1. The Real World – Owl City’s back with his synthpop sound and escapist lyrics (Whether you liked that on Ocean Eyes or not), however this time around the music takes on a bit more of a dance feel. In this song, he emphasizes the large gap between fantasy and reality. Not really any religious theme on this one.
2. Deer in the Headlights – Adam Young’s experiences with love not returned and getting burned by it. No religious theme here either.
3. Angels – This is where the religious focus is first evident. Incorporating the escapist theme (Space travel), it states his belief in spiritual beings; “Among my frivolous thoughts, I believe there are beautiful things seen by the astronauts” and “I guarantee there are angels around your vicinity”
4. Dreams Don’t Turn to Dust – Young leaves reality for a fantasy perfect world.
5. Honey and the Bee – Love song, with female vocals.
6. Kamikaze – This one’s religious, and from listening to it I believe the characters in the lyrics represent the eternal struggle between good and evil (God and Satan). The Captain on a snowy horse would be God, and the terrible force Adam says he is fighting back would be Satan. When he says he is “…not afraid to die alone”, he is trusting in God’s assistance.
7. January 28, 1986 – Has sound clips from Ronald Reagan’s speech after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. He includes the line saying that the astronauts “…slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.”
8. Galaxies – It’s got much more of a dance feel and a definite Christian focus; “Dear God, you’re the only north star I could follow this far” and “For He is the saving grace of the galaxies.”
9. Hospital Flowers – Adam recounts a car accident he was in and how it was a turning point in his life, possibly toward being closer to God.
10. Alligator Sky – I couldn’t find any religious aspects in this one, but it’s a really well produced (In my opinion) pop and rap combo featuring rapper Shawn Chrystopher.
11. The Yacht Club – More about Adam’s love life (And cautiousness in it) and his thoughts of sailing in his perfect world “…when we join the yacht club.”
12. Plant Life – Adam wrestles with an internal emptiness at the beginning that is filled near the end of the track. This can be interpreted in a religious light.

Would I recommend this album? Absolutely. It’s well produced (If you’re an audiophile like me, you’d like this one), and the lyrics are great, if not on some songs tacky but they have a definite Christian aspect. It’s one of the few mainstream hit albums I’ve seen that build up the Kingdom of God, and it’s making its way onto millions of iPods, including to those who wouldn’t otherwise buy religious music.