Owl City I can barely walk before I pull back the curtain and make my awkward entrance. The pre-performance butterflies are incredibly potent but after touring non-stop for two years, I truly think I would miss them if this wild roller coaster suddenly came to a screeching halt. Once the first song starts, I’m usually a lot better regarding stage fright but those few moments before walking onstage are the worst in a good way.
New York’s experimental rock outfit handily copes with the departure of singer Tyondai Braxton by enlisting assorted vocalists from Gary Numan on bleak Teutonic My Machines to Blonde Redhead’s Kazu Makino (the funk-throbbing Sweetie & Shag. Yet it’s the eight earwormy instrumentals that steal the show, especially the sleek, pop-grooved, 16-minute Futura. This shrewd and vigorous follow-up to 2007 debut Mirrored finds Battles winning the war against convention.
I always forget how much work it takes to make a record, and for one guy alone in a basement, it unfailingly takes forever. But despite the blood, sweat and tears, the art of making an album never quite feels like “work” for a grateful artist who remains unbelievably thankful for the job he’s been given.His huge hit “Fireflies” catapulted him to fame, but he remains the same small town guy from Owatonna, Minnesota. In a revealing interview, he shares his fears, addresses the haters, and talks about his unrequited love for Taylor Swift.
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