LYRICS: Youth Lagoon - "Seventeen"

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From 2011's The Year of Hibernation.

Rowing the campground up by the lake where we swam.
We were hunting for snakes,
but we couldn't find them.
Surrounded by nothing,
but the nothing's surrounded by us.
But it's just me in my room,
with my eyes shut.

When I was seventeen,
my mother said to me
"Don't stop imagining. The day that you do is the day that you die."
Now I pull a wanton carriage,
instead of the horses, grazing along.
I was having fun.
We were all having fun.

My brain kicking faster than I can,
but not fast enough.
Who is there to talk to
that won't lock me up?
At least God doesn't judge me by the thoughts that I find,
the snakes I couldn't find,
I don't want to find.

When I was seventeen,
my mother said to me
"Don't stop imagining. The day that you do is the day that you die."
Now I pull a wanton carriage,
instead of the horses, grazing along.
I was having fun.
We were all having fun.

TOURS: Death Cab for Cutie with Youth Lagoon

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Death Cab for Cutie will tour North America this spring with Youth Lagoon (in support of their A+ album The Year of Hibernation). Check out the dates below via Pitchfork.

02-17 Perth, Australia - Perth International Arts Festival
02-18 Perth, Australia - Perth International Arts Festival
02-20 Adelaide, Australia - HQ
02-21 Sydney, Australia - Palace
02-24 Sydney, Australia - Enmore Theatre
02-27 Brisbane, Australia - The Trivoli Theatre
02-29 Wellington, New Zealand - Wellington Town Hall
03-03 Taipei, Taiwan - Neo Studio
03-05 Taguig, Philippines - NBC Tent
03-07 Singapore, Singapore - Fort Gate at Fort Canning Park
04-10 Denver, CO - Ellie Caulkins Opera House ^
04-11 Omaha, NE - Music Hall ^
04-13 Louisville, KY - Louisville Palace ^
04-14 Grand Rapids, MI - Calvin College ^
04-15 Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theatre ^
04-16 Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre ^
04-19 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall ^
04-20 Montreal, Quebec - Eglise St-Jean Baptiste ^
04-21 Boston, MA - Wang Theatre ^
04-23 Providence, RI - Veterans Memorial Auditorium ^
04-24 Buffalo, NY - Kleinhans Music Hall ^
04-25 Philadelphia, PA - Tower Theatre ^
04-27 New York, NY - Beacon Theatre ^*
04-30 Washington, DC - Strathmore ^*
05-01 Knoxville, TN - Tennessee Theatre ^*
05-03 Austin, TX - ACL Live ^*
05-04 Dallas, TX - McFarlin Auditorium ^*
05-06 Mesa, AZ - Mesa Arts Center ^*
05-07 Los Angeles, CA - Disney Hall ^*
05-09 Oakland, CA - Fox Theater ^*
05-13 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre  ^*
05-30 Barcelona, Spain - San Miguel Primavera Sound 2012
06-07 Porto, Portugal - Optimus Primavera Sound 2012

^ with Magik*Magik Orchestra

* with Youth Lagoon 

VIDEO: Youth Lagoon - "July"

Youth Lagoon - July from Tyler T Williams on Vimeo.

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From their excellent debut LP The Year of Hibernation.

SONG OF THE DAY: Youth Lagoon - "Montana"

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We gave a gushing review of Youth Lagoon's debut album The Year of Hibernation and rightfully so. And on a gray day like today, their is nothing more fitting than Trevor Powers' mellow and forthright sounds to get you in the right mood for the hustle that the coming weeks will bring as the holidays approach. 

Powers lays out the track with a slow yet determined piano and quickly gets to his dreamy vocal layers. For a twenty-two year old kid, Powers is as gifted a lyricist as anyone. This song covers a confrontation with the demons of his past. However, as it builds and builds, it becomes more and more inspirational as he seems to be getting over these demons from his neighboring state. This song is beautiful and it is hard to believe that something so moving could be erected by such a young kid from such an odd place. 

REVIEW: Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation

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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.