Youth Lagoon (Seattle musician Trevor Powers) is playing some beautiful, languid lo-fi indie rock. He's not afraid to stretch out on the guitars or to slow it down and let the song grow almost of its own accord. Vocals are not clear or up front, but they support the overall sound well... almost like Doug Martsch's in Built to Spill. I'd recommend Youth Lagoon for anyone who's a fan of Built to Spill - there's not anywhere near the guitar attack, and some keyboards and synths are substituted for raw guitar power, but like a lot of Martsch's work, there's some sparse beauty and excellent playing.
Enough with the comparisons... check out track 2, "Cannons" and tell me if it's not one of the prettiest rock tracks you've heard this year, and track 5 "Day Dream" and its repeated guitar line and primitive chanted vocal "oh oh oh's".
Here's the video for "Montana", a typical slow-builder with dense keyboards and handclaps and a nice melody:
This record impressed me with its approach and the variety of sounds created, as well as Powers' obvious talent - the focus on creating something beautiful out of the tribulations of life is clear, and it serves him well as this is a very pretty record.
Youth Lagoon at Fat Possum Records
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