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Preview Tue Oct 20 2015
Youth Lagoon @ Thalia Hall On 10/21
Releasing his third full-length album at the age of 26 isn't so bad for Trevor Powers. The Boise-born psychedelic artist released his first album, The Year of Hibernation, when he was 22 and his songwriting grows with each record.
Noted for his minimal and ambient arrangements, the fanciful songwriter behind Youth Lagoon has colored in much of his songs with nostalgia and a curious sense of naïveté. But this third record, Savage Hills Ballroom, sounds like Powers has been looking farther out than the castles and ponds of his imagination.
After one of his closest friends drowned in a river, Powers canceled touring and flew home for the funeral. Since then, his songwriting has focused on connecting our experiences to one another. Whereas his two previous records sounded as if Powers imagined another place in order to retreat from discomfort, he sounds like he's confronting it head-on in Savage Hills Ballroom.
Like always, Powers sings like a cross between the whimsical tenderness of Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips and the child-like delivery of Joanna Newsom -- as if he became 12 years younger. His musicianship, as he dabbles on synths and electronic instruments, sounds a bit like MGMT. Each note he hits
Although Youth Lagoon sounds like -- and is -- a project fronted by a sole artist, Powers has rehearsed with a live band for months end, and you can catch his dreamy psychedelic pop at Thalia Hall on Wednesday, 10/21 with the opener Moon King. For general admission, tickets cost $19 in advance or $21 at the door; seated balcony tickets cost $27. They're available here, and doors open at 7 pm.