Grade: 97% (A+)
You had might as well call it a life of hibernation considering the mastermind behind Youth Lagoon, Trevor Powers, is from Boise, Idaho. I actually probably shouldn't be talking, I'm from Buffalo. Boise at least has a good football team. Buffalo, however, does not.
Either way, The Year of Hibernation is a perfect name for Youth Lagoon's debut album. The entire record sounds like it is coming from someone emerging from a year-long deep sleep with thirty-five minutes worth of dreams to put into the form of music. That might be a stretch, but this LP is certainly filled with sprawling and beautiful instrumentation and eerie vocals.
Powers says his music is based on his weird anxieties that only he knows and this is even evident through the dreamy landscapes he sets up in TYOH. The tones and orchestral workings of the record seem stuck somewhere right in between pure bliss and moderate happiness, which in the overall view is a giant difference.
In other words: you could play these tracks at a party, or you could also listen to them to fall asleep. The melodies will make you giddily happy, and the ghostly vocals will make you introvert and identify yourself. The songs can be inspirational and depressing. All of this is packed into one sitting of eight tracks.
These songs make me want to make music. Not necessarily in the same vein as Powers or even with the same mindset, but the way in which he lays out his thoughts and feelings by mixing the sounds and lyrics is truly exemplary. I am scared to give the album a grade because on somedays it is an emotional pick-me-up and on others it makes me take a step back from a good thing and interpret it's meaning.
If you haven't noticed, I haven't mentioned a single song title or identified any of the music on the album. This is simply because there is no need. You need to listen to the album yourself. Rather than being about individual songs or riffs, this record is more about what it does to you, and what you take away from it. So listen to it, and let it help you figure out whatever you need to figure out.
No comments:
Post a Comment