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Album reviews Music

Youth Lagoon

After two albums of shimmering psychedelia that twirl with the whimsy of fairy tales, Trevor Powers (aka Youth Lagoon) has gone hard. The 26-year-old from Boise, Idaho, sounds bolder, the production is crisper, and the wondrous effects that characterized his dreamy sound have nearly disappeared. The bombastic, echoing drum machine on the single The Knower might feel like a natural progression, but no one could have expected a full-out dubstep synth breakdown. (See opening track Officer Telephone.)

And Powers’s vocals, which still possess his signature nasal tone, are more upfront and unflinching this time. Yet for all this newfound confidence and prowess, that special emotional punch of a Youth Lagoon song is missing. Drum machines and thick bass lines now overshadow the simple keyboard melodies that once provided the base of each song, and heavy breakdowns interrupt the kaleidoscope mysticism found on previous albums. The songs that come closest to embodying those older emotions are the two piano-focused instrumental tracks, which with their slow tempo and wistful ambience, sound utterly out of place.

Top track: Free Me


Youth Lagoon play the Opera House on October 25.    

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