Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation (2011) [Fat Possum] // Grade: B+

A downbeat collection, The Year of Hibernation is a handmade testament to subtlety, patience and growth from the hands of 22-year-old Boise native Trevor Powers. Recorded in a four-car garage, Powers’ self-released debut hinges on an invitation to barrenness- delicate and meditative once inside. Sharing similarities with a range of artists like Pepper Rabbit or Grizzly Bear, the results come off less completive and floral, like, perhaps a simplified form of The Antlers if you must. A perfect title, I’d like to believe that the musician lets this coming-out release function as his diary toward maturity, where during his intensely vivid period of growing up and tackling all the neuroses of shifting into the pool of twentysomethings all looking for something to float on, this “Hibernation” proves his saving grace as an artist and as a youth.

Gentle, somber and frail, Powers plays Lagoon’s game slowly and for this we’re rewarded; most of the material here starts naked, cold and patient until slowly, piece by piece, the wistful ballads grow to a targeted to-the-rafters glory. Take shimmering standout “July” and its opening lyrics, “Like fireworks pinching the night, the fireworks on the Fourth of July…”which couldn’t be more fitting and universal as a catalyst for the song’s approaching crescendo. It moans to organs at first but it’s the approaching spirited keys and plugged-in, reverb-soaked guitar that creep into the waltz, giving the track its beautiful expansion. Most tracks here function on the same plain, where melody, pace and timing all give the sense that the kid might need some time to wake up, but, I can assure that once he does, he’ll hit it out of the park. Standouts are throughout, but make sure you give “Montana,” “Cannons” and “Daydream” a try.

An admirable accompaniment to endearing youth and wasted nights when libated 2 a.m. realizations prove more valuable than anything else, Powers’ daydreamed “Hibernation” shows immediately that he’s got a sense of melody, patience and skill that may have already caught the attention of wider eyes. Originally meant to carry the stamp from small dream pop imprint Juno Beach Records, the label cites “serious attention and offers from much larger labels” that led to a decision to “mutually nix” the release. Short at just eight songs, Hibernation fits nicely in the playlists of hazy and delicate summer afternoons, but I’m curious, now with this added interest, to see where the young Powers goes next, considering all this gathering potential. I hope he doesn’t get too comfortable wide awake.

This review originally appeared on July 7th, 2011 for the Juno Beach release of Youth Lagoon’s The Year of Hibernation.

- The Holloweyed