The Year of Hibernation
Artist: Youth Lagoon
Label: Spunk/EMI
Website: youthlagoon.blogspot.com
This is
one home recording you should check out
Youth
Lagoon is the project of 22-year-old musician Trevor Powers that brings
all of the elements you love from home recordings and then wins you
over with his style.
Opening
track "Posters" kicks the record off in
familiar territory, as you get Powers voice struggling to sing just
above the flowing synth music as his tone echoes of the song structure.
Now if you turn it off there because you have heard it all before then
you have a made a critical mistake, as the song completely shifts gears
at the 2 minute mark and flourishes instrumentally in complete stereo
with a memorable beat. This transitions you right into "Cannons", which
has a big sprawling chorus with Powers vocals drenched in reverb. One
of the catchiest tracks on the record is "Afternoon" that is a whistle
while you listen song that builds its volume on the way out, while the
mostly hush "July" explodes out of nowhere with Powers singing to the
top of his lungs capacity.
These are just a few of the pieces that make The Year Of Hibernation so
infectious and with 8 songs averaging around 4 minutes, Powers utilizes
all the time and space to maximize his sound. Where most bands of this
nature are usually in and out, Youth Lagoon hangs around and gives the
listener fully realized ideas while catching your ear with a memorable
lyric or beat.
Musically you may feel that you have been here before but after several spins you realize that Youth Lagoon is a standout from an ever growing genre and The Year Of Hibernation just might be one of the best records we have heard this year.
Christopher Anthony
For more of Christopher Anthony's music reviews, check out The Fire Note