The atmospheric and soothing sounds of Youth Lagoon with the moniker of fresh-faced 22-year-old Trevor Powers proved to be a minimalist invitation for dreamers to close out the weekend.
Youth Lagoon
Appearing on stage amidst a plethora of dry ice and lush blue tinted stage lights, Powers promptly set up behind his keyboard and pedals alongside guitarist Logan Hyde. The duo quickly launched into the set made up entirely of songs from the debut album The Year of Hibernation, a title that seems quite fitting given the lo-fi electronic lullabies littered throughout Power’s compositions.
Early on in the performance, Powers gave an admission that the gig was “…very special…” being his “…very last show for a long time”. This was met with rapturous applause from punters as Powers launched into chilled out tracks such as ‘Bobby’ and popular favourite ‘Cannons’.
Each track effectively evoked the dreamlike imagery reminiscent of a late summers afternoon. It’s a mean feat for two musicians to spin such vivid imagery from simplistic lo-fi recordings, with each slow building track ushering in visions of broken embraces and long lost sunsets.
Impressively, Powers and Hyde created an evocative soundscape utilizing minimal instruments. However, it must be noted that replicating the LP’s hazy daydream glow in a live setting was not always successful. Powers’ quirky and strained vocals often appeared overpowering, whereas throughout the LP the vocal work contains a suitable dislocated quality that fully creates the layered laconic ambience that makes Youth Lagoon truly memorable.
However, this is a minor quibble as Powers has a proven with the Youth Lagoon project that he has the ability to create pitch perfect daydreams in the form of 3-minute electronic pop ditties.
