An Airplane Carried Me to Bed

Following the breakout success of Ocean Eyes in 2009, Adam Young announced that he would be re-launching his previous side project Sky Sailing.[4] Young explained the record stating,

"These recordings are a step into the past, the documented account of a shy boy from Minnesota with more hopes and dreams than he knew what to do with. I am so very excited to share it with you."[4]

The album was recorded in the summer of 2007 according to Young.[5]

Upon his return to Sky Sailing, Young uploaded two tracks on MySpace, "Brielle" and "I Live Alone".[6] "Brielle" was later released as the lead single from the album on July 13, 2010.[7] An accompanying music video for the song premiered on July 28, 2010 via VEVO.[8] "A Little Opera Goes a Long Way" was released as the second single in 2010.[9] "Tennis Elbow" was released on July 22, 2010 for a free download on his newsletter.[10] "Flowers of the Field" was released as the third and final single on July 27, 2010.[11]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Billboard	[12]
Entertainment Weekly	B[13]
HM	[14]
Jesus Freak Hideout	[15]
Newsday	B[1]
New York Post	[16]
Rolling Stone	[17]

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.[15] However, he was critical of the melodies remarking, "as good as they are, almost feel copy-and-pasted."[15] 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."[12] Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly 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."[13] Glenn Gamboa of Newsday called the album "a more conventional indie-pop album."[1]

Heather Phares of AllMusic 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, '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."[3] Katie Toms of The Guardian stated, "'Brielle' is pretty, but essentially this is an album of excess material for the (admittedly legion) committed fans."[18] Dan Aquilante of the New York Post 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.[16] P.F. Wilson of Cincinnati CityBeat stated there are "enough gems here to make it worthwhile."[19]

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.[20][21] The album sold upwards to 15,000 copies in the US in its first week.[2] To date, the album has sold 26,000 copies.[22]

"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.

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