Wondrous Bughouse
Release date: March 5, 2013
For fans of: MGMT, Beach House, The Neighborhood
More indie rock influence than on the debut album The Year of Hibernation, Youth Lagoon’s Trevor Powers digs even deeper on his second album Wondrous Bughouse.
Atmospheric and soaring, the sophomore album is so meticulously layered that each listen reveals something fresh. Powers' description for the record as "experimenting with ideas about dimensions" makes sense of context of the various soaring sounds weaved throughout the record. Though the tracks are not immediate, each song’s multiple components leads to curiosity about what will unfold next.
Wondrous Bughouse isn’t immensely different from Youth Lagoon’s first album The Year of Hibernation, but does offer more of an meditative indie rock approach and added layers than the previous albums’ ambient, dance- inspired beats.
NPR’s description of Wondrous Bughouse as “one of the most arresting headphone records you’ll hear this year” is aptly described. Powers’ slimy, slightly nasally voice isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but his beautiful arrangements encapsulate the reason of why headphones are the best devices for sonically in-depth albums.
Youth Lagoon balances slow-building, ambient moments like found in opener “Through Mind and Back” with a soaring energy of clean guitar and sparkling electronics such as second track and no doubt primary album track “Mute.” Occasionally, quirky and distorted sounds make their way into the songs, adding a varying vibe to the otherwise uplifting collection.
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