The Midsummer Station is Owl City's fourth studio album, released on August 17, 2012. After Owl City's previous album, All Things Bright and Beautiful (2011) sold only 143,000 copies in the United States, Adam Young began working on demo tracks for The Midsummer Station in January 2012. Unlike in his previous albums, Young worked with different songwriters and producers for the first time, such as Stargate, Emily Wright, and Matthew Thiessen. He was initially scared of the thought of collaborating with others, saying that "[he's] never worked with anybody before. [he's] done everything [him]self except for mastering. It's a big job for one guy, especially a perfectionist, so [he] knew [he] wanted to try to experiment with other people."
On May 15, 2012, Young released an EP called Shooting Star, which consisted of four songs that would be featured on The Midsummer Station. Many criticized the EP, saying it was very different from his previous works. On his blog, Young defended his choice for the new sound of the EP and the album, stating that he believes that "it's a bummer for an artist of any kind to hear, 'Yeah it's great but it's a lot like your previous work.' (...) Creativity is all about pushing boundaries and pressing onward." In an interview with PureVolume, he stated that the tracks on this record are much darker, with more influence of his own dreams, nightmares and self-reflection.
The album was originally planned to be released on August 14, 2012 worldwide, except for the United Kingdom where it would be released on September 17, 2012. On June 21, 2012, it was announced that the worldwide release date would be pushed back to August 21, 2012. On July 12, Young announced via Twitter that the UK release date would be brought forward to August 20, 2012. The album was released on August 17 in all other countries.
Singles[]
The lead single of the Shooting Star EP, "Shooting Star", was released on May 15, 2012. This song was intended to be the lead single of The Midsummer Station, but instead, "Good Time" was chosen instead due to the success of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe".
The lead single of The Midsummer Station, "Good Time", was released on June 26, 2012. The song was successful, peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song reached No. 1 in Canada, New Zealand, and South Korea. The song was certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in December 2012.
Promotional singles[]
The first promotional single, "I'm Coming After You", was released on August 13, 2012. It was made available for streaming through Seventeen magazine.
The second promotional single, "Metropolis", was released on August 20, 2012. It was made available for streaming through Idolator.
Trivia[]
- Before the album was released, Adam Young used to refer to it as "#OCTMS" on Twitter, which spelled out as "Owl City The Midsummer Station".
- "I'm Coming After You" was the trailer for the GKIDS dub of The Wind Rises.
Track listing[]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dreams and Disasters" | 3:45 |
| 2. | "Shooting Star" | 4:07 |
| 3. | "Gold" | 3:56 |
| 4. | "Dementia" (featuring Mark Hoppus) | 3:31 |
| 5. | "I'm Coming After You" | 3:30 |
| 6. | "Speed of Love" | 3:28 |
| 7. | "Good Time" (featuring with Carly Rae Jepsen) | 3:26 |
| 8. | "Embers" | 3:45 |
| 9. | "Silhouette" | 4:12 |
| 10. | "Metropolis" | 3:39 |
| 11. | "Take It All Away" | 3:31 |
| iTunes Store bonus track | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 12. | "Bombshell Blonde" | 3:26 |
| Japanese edition bonus track | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 12. | "Top of the World" | 3:30 |
Notes and references[]
[]
| Songs from The Midsummer Station |
|---|
| Dreams and Disasters • Shooting Star • Gold • Dementia • I'm Coming After You • Speed of Love • Good Time • Embers • Silhouette • Metropolis • Take It All Away • Bombshell Blonde • Top of the World • Hey Anna • I Hope You Think of Me |
| Owl City Discography | |
|---|---|
| Albums | Maybe I'm Dreaming • Ocean Eyes • All Things Bright and Beautiful • The Midsummer Station • Mobile Orchestra • Cinematic • Coco Moon |
| EPs | Of June • Shooting Star • The Midsummer Station - Acoustic • Ultraviolet • Reel 1 • Reel 2 • Reel 3 |