Jody Rosen, "reviewing" for Rolling Stone:
Adam Young, a.k.a. Owl City, seems to be a nice guy, and he knows how to put together a pop song. But he's also a menace. On Young's fourth LP, he delivers universally annoying synth-pop pep talks – "It's time for you to shine brighter than a shooting star"; "Follow the light through the dreams and disasters" – in a dweeby Mr. Magoo whine that makes him one of the more insipid popvocal stylists of his generation, if not any generation. His fluency with pop forms only makes things worse; Young spoils everything he touches. The Carly Rae Jepsen duet "Good Time" is grating enough to make you hate Jepsen, "Call Me Maybe" and also good times in general.That's their whole "review".
Okay, even though I'm not a big fan of the album, this absurd view of it is critically idiotic. I never read Rolling Stone, but after this one-paragraph rubbish, I never want to.
After some redundant all-inclusive listening, I've found "Silhouette" and "Metropolis" to be the two best tracks in the album. The former is somber, yet beautiful while the latter is, with the exception of the most tacky "oh oh, I can't even take it in" during the chorus, more like old-Owl City, so to speak. I really enjoyed the lyrics because they felt more well-written than the other tracks, save for "Silhouette" which is still my favorite track. "Dementia" is great too, but I don't think of it as being in the album since it was included in the "Shooting Star" EP a few months back. "Bombshell Blonde" is ridiculously uninspired when it comes to lyrics, but the dubstep-bridge is fun.
If you're looking for some more-genuine music from Adam Young, try "Paper Tigers" or "Beautiful Mystery", two tracks that have not yet been released for purchase.