Dig It

When it comes to unsigned, lesser-known bands, few ever receive the attention they deserve. Fortunately for Owl City (and us), a lucky sequence of events carried this artist into the limelight.

After the self-released “Maybe Dreaming” (2008), solo act Adam Young signed with Universal Republic for this sophomore album, “Ocean Eyes.” A member of several synthpop, indie-rock projects, Adam Young has collaborated to create this latest work. The single “Fireflies” was the key to the album’s success. The track put the artist on top of MySpace’s Top 10 unsigned artists list and was then featured as “Single of The Week” on iTunes. This fun, catchy track received half a million downloads and got the album a lot of attention.

A dozen tracks feature a blend of synthesized beats and space-y overtones swirled together with dream-like lyrics. All together, it’s an easy listen that pushes electronica more towards the mainstream.