Youth Lagoon finds its voice again with Heaven Is a Junkyard.
“Youth Lagoon returns with his first production since 2015 with an album in which he explores hopelessness and his connection with God after being left without a voice for eight months.
What would happen if, overnight, you couldn’t do what you love so much and that gives you life? Possibly making you question the world around you. That’s what happened to Youth Lagoon and what you want to express in Heaven Is a Junkyardan album in which the Idaho musician explores hopelessness and his connection with God after being left without a voice for eight months.
Trevor Powersbetter known as Youth Lagoon, spent almost a full year in Hell due to a reaction to a medication, which caused him to be unable to continue speaking. This is his first production since 2015, one in which he shows us a facet of him, where his voice is more narrated and less sung, far from what he did in The Year of Hibernation (2011).
From the hand of Rodaidh McDonald (The xx, David Byrne, Sampha) in the production, “Rabbit“takes us by the hand to go down the rabbit hole of Alice in Wonderland and go to a world in which desolation and joy are always present together.
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A simple piano, similar to what you would use Billy Joel, with details, synths and voices as sounds are the main pieces in the bittersweet essence of this album. It is evident in songs like “Trapeze Artist” and “Prizefighter”, in which he stands out lyrically for describing situations in which he balances happiness with sadness.
But it reaches the point of deepest depression in “Idaho Alien”, a song in which he develops suicidal thoughts and alludes to what it would be like for those left on earth dealing with their death. While he finds salvation in “Deep Red Sea”, where through synths and percussion that simulate a rainy night, he talks about believing that there is something bigger that has a plan for us.
“mercury” designs a sensory experience in which everything feels liquid, ethereal and fluid, as if we float with the energy of the Universe, which contrasts with “Little Devil from the Country”. A composition in which the protagonists are the drums and his voice that is heard filtered to tell us about a criminal who comes to bring evil to earth.
But the story truly ends with “The Sling” and “Helicopter Toy”, who remember what the meaning of life is and why Heaven is a Junkyard It has that title. For Youth Lagoon, Life is a mix between the good times and the bad. Everything reminds us why we are alive and that happiness is hidden in the small details that surround us.
