Trevor Powers aka Youth Lagoon is totally apart in this music world, may be not totally apart, as they are other sensible singer songwriters of course, but he has a unique voice, fragile and powerful at the same time, and this is exactly how I feel while listening to his new song ‘The Knower’.
It is his first single since 2013 and the tune is a glorious comeback, starting with an amazing and moving falsetto over a thin heartbreaking melody, which progressively grows as more shaking and rattling electronic are added. Then come the horns, slowly building up an explosive chorus, which is not a chorus at all because it is only sung once. When it is there, it is an outburst of overwhelming feelings with a sort of Sufjan Stevens vibe – probably because of these trumpets – and the funny thing in all this? The last minute almost feels a poppy dance song. The tune is very Youth Lagoon but there are obvious changes and may be this brand new photo of his tells us a bit about this new sound?
‘Oh, everybody wants to think/They’re not what they eat/That their body’s great/Oh, everybody wants to think/That they’re good at heart/When they’re full of hate’, laments Powers before becoming angry or scared, I am not sure, but it is sure a very powerful song which seems to exult a deep pain. According to NPR, he canceled his last tour, following the death of a close friend. The experience made him ‘start viewing Youth Lagoon differently,’ and he then moved to Bristol to record with producer and engineer Ali Chant (Perfume Genius).
The song was released about a week ago, first as a surprise and limited 7” record, and shamefully, it had escaped me! At the same time Youth Lagoon announced his new album ‘Savage Hills Ballroom’, a collection of 10 songs set to be released on September 25th via Fat Possum
Savage Hills Ballroom tracklist:
Officer Telephone
Highway Patrol Stun Gun
The Knower
No One Can Tell
Doll’s Estate
Rotten Human
Kerry
Again
Free Me
X-Ray