Album Review: Sail By The Stars - The Night Owl EP

With Owl City topping the charts with his uplifting "hair emo" popness, the door has now been opened for a flood of sunnier emo outfits to break into the mainstream. Sail By The Stars probably won't be one of those, although mostly for lack of exposure no doubt. Frontman (and only man) Josh unveils a myspace covered in smileys and youthful cheer. His new EP "The Night Owl EP" embodies just that.

Opener "I Wish I May, I Wish I Might" kicks off in acoustic fashion and vocals as sunny as a Florida summer. Hooks and pop sensibilities galore, the electric elements of the song do tend to feel a bit unnecessary (think Dashboard Confessional's veering into full band territory). To be fair, the same goes for much of the EP's content, with "Wingspans And Flight Plans" and "A Glowworm Never Grows Dim" flirting with more intelligent plugged instrumenting.