Although Trevor Powers isn’t reinventing the wheel, and his compositions might lack some of the crunch of a few of his fellow psychedelic contemporaries, there’s no denying that his work as Youth Lagoon is showcasing a kind of metamorphosis. Inspired by the invisible area where spirituality and humanity meet, there is a definite ascension taking place on Youth Lagoon’s sophomore album, Wondrous Bughouse.
The layering of each track is more compact, yet the separate parts constituting each song make for greater depth than his efforts on The Year of Hibernation. Powers has bulked up his music significantly, adding more instrumentation and more individual threads to entwine and bind with one another. This not only makes for a more solid presence in the here and now, but it also allows him to branch out and stretch his musical limbs further afield. Simultaneously, his delicate vocals and lyricism combined with some of the darker colors in his musical palette see him grow more introspective. This contradiction, despite its puzzling nature, demonstrates a considerable progression. Powers’ willingness to dream a little bigger has definitely paid off. His attention to detail and his wonderful sense of melody has created a much more absorbing and dreamy experience for all.
Although some aspects of the record still feel a little alien, particularly the opener “Through Mind and Back” (which sounds like a memorial for 1980s desktop computers), Powers has definitely smoothed off some of the rougher edges in his experimental electronica-meets-Americana melting pot. It’s not quite “there” yet, in my opinion, but the warm, abstract style of Youth Lagoon is certainly on its way and moving in the right direction. After waking up from his sleepy dream pop cocoon and absorbing so much more on Wondrous Bughouse, I’m looking forward to seeing where Powers’ journey takes us next.
