Owl City - The Midsummer Station Acoustic EP

I'm a huge Owl City fan. Adam Young makes great pop music that reaches below the surfaces and is full of substance. The Midsummer Station was a brilliant record. So the thought and of acoustic ep featuring songs from the record was very intriguing.

Acoustic might be a bit of an overstatement. Yes, the arrangements are scaled down and simplified. But it's not like you're getting Adam Young sitting in the studio with an acoustic guitar and a string section (although, that would be awesome).

Good Times doesn't feature Carly Rae Jespen, which is kind of nice. The strip down version of Young's summer hit stripped and slowed down. The catchiness is still there and if released like this, would still be a hit single. But the song takes on a completely different vibe. The song is more chill. A late night drive song, instead of a summer time pool party track. Shooting Star also doesn't explode at the hook like the original but it's less of a drastic change. It sounds like Young is off click, playing by himself with a handful of backing tracks. Gold just sounds like the back tracks have been scaled down from the original.

It's the two new songs on the record that are the gems of this ep. Hey Anna is an upbeat pop song that sounds like a Midsummer Station b-side. Rich in bass and thick synths with a super catchy hook. I Hope You Think Of Me is more of a ballad than Hey Anna. Still a fun track to close the ep.

With Adam Young saying the next Owl City album will feature more EDM, this might be the last time you'll hear great pop tracks like this from Young... For a little while anyway. The Midd SUmer Station "Acoustic" is a great ep with fun reinterpretations of a couple of old schools and great new tracks.