Owl City releases a new track titled "Boston". This track is about love and starting over in a different town. What is more satisfying than listening to a one-man band where that one-man has absolutely mastered the art of making satisfying synth sounds and catchy melodies? Well, I can think of a few, but it is pretty darn high up there. The song "Boston" sort of starts in a “classic” Owl City fashion, from what I can remember, with the cute synths modified to perfection and an overall bubbly feeling. It is an interesting track because the sonics really follow along with the story. The first part, being more of a lament about how one part in a relationship feels left out and unloved. When the narrative breaks over and the character starts considering the freedoms that go along with moving to another city, all the musical elements change. We introduce distorted guitars, rebellious pop-punk vocals, and much more. I would say this switch-up makes sense, and it is appreciated that someone put so much thought into their song. Just like how getting up and moving to a new city all of a sudden would be a bit shocking, the rock elements kick in at the same time as that lyric starts supporting that shocking feeling.

Also, in a way, I would say that the first section of the song sounds more modern and in line with the Owl City sound. When the punk rock elements come in, it sort of instantly becomes nostalgic. I don’t know if this is something that also goes with the lyrics in a way that maybe these are feelings that the writer used to have as a solution to feeling unloved and unwanted but don't have anymore. In my narrative, I am trying to imagine, I’m saying that the feeling of being unwanted could still be persistent but the solution is different. There are not a lot of reviews on this song yet, but I am very curious to see how other people feel about this song, particularly the switch-up it has. In a lot of genres, we see nostalgia being brought back into the present, and in a lot of cases, it works out very well. People have been given a lot of time to thoroughly search every corner of the internet for music that used to be popular, and some of it has been brought back into the light. I have seen a lot of classic acoustic pieces, nightcore, and older EDM genres that hadn’t seen the light of day in a while being brought back. Maybe the pop-punk thing that Owl City is reaching for in this song will also see some sort of light again. I am very curious and appreciate this new track “Boston” a lot. I think you should listen to it!

Author: Peter Källman

Peter Källman is a writer from Sweden who loves playing in bands, writing reviews and going to live shows!