Owl City: ‘Mobile Orchestra’ album review

Since the late 2000s, Adam Young (better known the world over as Owl City) experienced a trajectory nothing short of meteoric. After selling millions of records, the small towner from Owatonna, MN has practically laid the blueprints for the modern pop/ electronica troubadours following in his footsteps. All the while, he has never been shy about his faith, which continues alongside the mounds of sugary surges that permeate the fifth full-length effort Mobile Orchestra.

In addition to delightfully quirky arrangements and diary-styled lyrics, Young taps Avicii collaborator Aloe Blacc on “Verge,” aims straight for the dance floor with Hanson on “Unbelievable,” and takes a somewhat unexpected though still catchy country sidestep with Jake Owen throughout “Back Home.” Come the contemplative finale “This Isn’t The End,” telling the tale of a girl whose father takes his life, but ultimately points to forgiveness, redemption and the reminder that “when the light goes out, this isn’t the end.”