"Wolf Bite" is a song by American

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

project Owl City. The song was released on June 18, 2014, as a promotional single from his fourth extended play, ''

Ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...

''. The song reached number 22 on the

Christian Rock Songs Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

chart and number 48 on the

Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales, previously Dance/Electronic Digital Songs is a weekly chart that ranks the best-selling digital dance and electronic singles in the United States, according to ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard''. Although it o ...

chart.

Background

According to Adam Young, "Wolf Bite" is about, "becoming a better person and how the trials and difficult tribulations of life can grow you up." Young described the song as a "dreamy minimalist verse" with a "shimmering hook that resounds with a primal power." The song was inspired by the 2010 period

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

The Wolfman In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely o ...

''.

Composition and lyrics

Written and produced by Young, the track runs at 128 BPM and is in the key of D major. Musically, the song has been described as an

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstra ...

and

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

track, featuring Owl City's signature melodies. However, the lyrics are more melancholy than is typically found in Owl City's music, saying, "It's another bad dream, poison in my bloodstream / I'm dying but I can't scream, will you show me the way." The lyrical interpretation of the song is a "call for God's help."

Critical reception

"Wolf Bite" was generally well received by music critics. Scott Fryberger of Jesus Freak Hideout called the song, "a half mid-tempo, half dancey track that again hearkens back a few years to '' All Things Bright and Beautiful''." In a review of ''Ultraviolet'' for '' Renowned for Sound'', Marcus Floyd stated of the song, "The echo resonating from the end of each line in 'Wolf Bite' may grind your gears a little, but if you're after some punchy EDM/pop Owl City style, this is the track for you." The song is considered to be a "fan favorite" from the EP.

Music video

"Wolf Bite" was released on June 18, 2014, along with an audio video. A music video for the song premiered via

MetroLyrics MetroLyrics was a website dedicated to song lyrics. It was founded in December 2002, and its database contained over one million songs by over 16,000 artists. Unlike other lyric websites, MetroLyrics places a warning on songs that contain expli ...

on July 17, 2014, and was directed by Andrew William Ralph. The music video features clips of a werewolf riding a bicycle and has a mix of live action shots combined with some colorful animated overlays.

Charts

References

{{Owl City 2014 songs Owl City songs Songs written by Adam Young