Wondrous Bughouse
In 2011, Youth Lagoon\'s *Year of Hibernation* hit the ether; it was called a \"bedroom recording,\" but the set by Boise, Idaho\'s Trevor Powers felt like much more. Eerily intangible but melodic, elusive but memorable, *Hibernation* mesmerized fans and critics alike. Powers continues in the same vein with *Wondrous Bughouse*, which somehow feels as amorphous as *Year of Hibernation* yearned to be under its pesky melodies and song structures. Outnumbering the shapeless bad-trip excursions (\"Daisyphobia,\" \"Through Mind and Back\") are numerous actual songs, like the lovely \"Mute,\" with Smith\'s warbly voice reaching through white noise and gurgling keyboard haze, a churning rhythm section, and simple, searching guitar. \"Pelican Man\" has a Beatles-on-acid vibe that tumbles and glows under a blanket of scratchy reverb, and \"Attic Doctor\" is a woozy, calliope-soundtracked dream. \"Third Dystopia\" and \"Dropla\" build slowly and majestically, with delay and effects pedals running synths and guitars through a time machine that confounds the laws of aural physics. *Wondrous* is produced by Ben Allen (Washed Out, Deerhunter).
Youth Lagoon follows his heartfelt 2011 debut The Year of Hibernation with an album that is bigger, bolder, and more emotionally resonant, thanks to production from Ben Allen. Trevor Powers' project is firmly in the lineage of bands like Mercury Rev, Sparklehorse, and Modest Mouse.
After the success of The Year Of Hibernation, Trevor Powers’ DIY dream-pop debut, he had a lot of options and resources available for his Youth Lagoon follow-up. But how would he use them, if at all? Much of The Year Of Hibernation’s quiet majesty was derived from its isolated-loner aesthetic; removing Powers’…
A delicious collage: provocative, allusive and consistently engaging.
Youth Lagoon's Trevor Powers snuck onto the scene a year and a half ago, a quiet but brilliantly talented composer.
Youth Lagoon's second album, Wondrous Bughouse, lives up to the first part of its name: the sheer amount of sounds Trevor Powers packs into these songs certainly inspire wonder.
Youth Lagoon's 2011 debut, The Year of Hibernation, earned praise for its fragile intimacy, but songwriter Trevor Powers has achieved someth...
Wondrous Bughouse leaves the distinct impression that it was a lot more fun to make than it is to listen to.
Review Of Youth Lagoon's 'Wondrous Bughouse". Produced by Ben Allen from Animal Collective, "Wondrous Bughouse" is now Available now on Fat Possum records.
Youth Lagoon - Wondrous Bughouse review: Like snuggling into the mind of a jovial lunatic.