''An Airplane Carried Me to Bed'' is the first and only album by
Sky Sailing, a project by Adam Young. The album comprises some of his early recordings from before he started
Owl City
Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young, who created the project while experimenting with music in his pa ...
. It was released digitally on July 13, 2010,
before it was released physically on July 27, 2010 via
Universal Republic
Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...
.
Background
Following the breakout success of ''
Ocean Eyes'' in 2009,
Adam Young announced that he would be re-launching his previous side project Sky Sailing.
Young explained the record stating,
The album was recorded in the summer of 2007 according to Young.
Release
Upon his return to Sky Sailing, Young uploaded two tracks on
MySpace, "Brielle" and "I Live Alone". "Brielle" was later released as the lead single from the album on July 13, 2010. An accompanying music video for the song premiered on July 28, 2010 via
VEVO
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...
. "A Little Opera Goes a Long Way" was released as the second single in 2010. "Tennis Elbow" was released on July 22, 2010 for a free download on his newsletter. "Flowers of the Field" was released as the third and final single on July 27, 2010.
Critical reception
''An Airplane Carried Me to Bed'' was generally well received by music critics. Scott Fryberger of Jesus Freak Hideout gave a positive review stating, "Young handles his lyrics so well, with some of the best lyricism you could find in pop music." He praised songs such as "A Little Opera Goes A Long Way", "Captains of the Sky", and "Brielle". He also compared the acoustic sound to indie rock band
Death Cab For Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyboar ...
.
[ However, he was critical of the melodies remarking, "as good as they are, almost feel copy-and-pasted."][ ''Billboard'' magazine stated, "Straying from the electronic-laced whimsical themes of Owl City, Young takes a more simple, honest approach to song-writing with Sky Sailing, resulting in a more lyrically grounded effort." ''Billboard'' called the song, "Tennis Elbow", as the "catchy standout track" and also called the album, "Young's more vulnerable side."] Mikael Wood of ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' remarked, "On ''An Airplane Carried Me to Bed'' he uses more acoustic guitar than keyboard, but the wide-eyed sentiment of these dreamy lost-love songs is tweenpleasingly familiar." Glenn Gamboa of Newsday
''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
called the album "a more conventional indie-pop album."
Heather Phares of AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
gave a mixed review of the album stating, "Young's basic approach remains the same not just from project to project, but from song to song." She also added, "There aren't many peaks and valleys here, although 'Tennis Elbow' shows hints of Owl City
Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young, who created the project while experimenting with music in his pa ...
, 'Take Me Somewhere Nice' blossoms from playful electric pianos to accordions on its choruses, and 'A Little Opera Goes a Long Way' shows off Young's guitar solo skills." Katie Toms of ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' stated, "'Brielle' is pretty, but essentially this is an album of excess material for the (admittedly legion) committed fans." Dan Aquilante of the ''New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' stated, "The melodies are gentle, often veering toward lullabies... It should please Owl City fans even if the arrangements are simpler because it still carries Young's gift at pulling heartstrings." He praised the songs "Brielle" and "A Little Opera Goes a Long Way" calling them the standout tracks. P.F. Wilson of ''Cincinnati CityBeat
''Cincinnati CityBeat'' is an independent local arts and issues publication covering the Cincinnati, Ohio area. It has the second largest readership in the Cincinnati area behind ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' daily newspaper.
History
''CityBeat'' ...
'' stated there are "enough gems here to make it worthwhile."
''An Airplane Carried Me to Bed'' debuted at No. 30 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was one of the most-downloaded new albums on the week it was released. The album sold upwards to 15,000 copies in the US in its first week. To date, the album has sold 26,000 copies.
Track listing
"Sailboats", was first released under another project 'Seagull Orchestra' but was re-recorded and changed somewhat for release under Sky Sailing. The title of the album was also taken from this track, the lyrics for which can be heard at the start of one of the verses in the song.
Personnel
Sky Sailing
* Adam Young – vocals, keyboards, piano, guitars, bass, drums, programming, producers, engineer, audio mixer
Additional musicians and production
* Steve Bursky – executive producer, management
* Greg Calbi – mastering
* Rob Helmstetter – art direction
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Airplane Carried Me to Bed
2010 albums
Sky Sailing albums