Wondrous Bughouse

by Youth Lagoon

Overview

Youth Lagoon's second album, Wondrous Bughouse, lives up to the first part of its name: the sheer amount of sounds Trevor Powers packs into these songs certainly inspire wonder. The Year of Hibernation hinted at the sonic depth and detail displayed here, but the size and polish of Wondrous Bughouse's arrangements make the album perfect for listening to under headphones, where every gurgling keyboard and rippling echo can really come to life. Songs like "Mute" show how far Powers has come since his debut album: full of sparkling guitars and limpid synths, it's a sonic cathedral rather than the hazy cocoons that used to surround his barely audible vocals. Wondrous Bughouse's upgraded production values don't do much to dismiss the comparisons to forerunners like the Flaming Lips -- indeed, Wayne Coyne and company would be glad to call tracks such as "Raspberry Cane" their own. However, the album's expansive palette also reveals similarities to Sun Airway's gorgeous surfaces, as well as to more traditional psychedelic pop; "Attic Doctor"'s resplendent harpsichords and the stomping beat and churning melody on "Pelican Man" make them seem like Magical Mystery Tour outtakes, while "Daisyphobia" could have come straight from Dark Side of the Moon. Some of the best moments use Wondrous Bughouse's massive sounds to convey the loneliness Powers evoked on The Year of Hibernation: "The Bath" begins with murmured confessions and a rickety keyboard melody, then slowly swells into an epic that retains that vulnerability. On "Dropla," Powers examines mortality and spirituality, chanting "you'll never die" in a way that's a little too frantic to be truly reassuring, but is powerful in its urgency all the same. An undeniably impressive-sounding album, Wondrous Bughouse will please fans who loved The Year of Hibernation for its intricate sonics. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	03/05/2013
Label:	Fat Possum Records / Turnstile
UPC:	0767981129310

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Through Mind and Back
2. Mute
3. Attic Doctor
4. The Bath
5. Pelican Man
6. Dropla
7. Sleep Paralysis
8. Third Dystopia
9. Raspberry Cane
10. Daisyphobia

Disc 2

11. Dropla
12. Sleep Paralysis
13. Third Dystopia
14. Raspberry Cane
15. Daisyphobia

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Youth Lagoon   Primary Artist
Ben H. Allen III   Percussion,Synthesizer,Bass
Logan Hyde   Percussion,Synthesizer
Richie Figgs   Bass
Heather McIntosh   Cello
Chandler Rentz   Drums
Trevor Powers   Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Percussion,Synthesizer

Technical Credits

Sumner Jones   Assistant Engineer
Ben H. Allen III   Mixing,Producer,Programming
Jason Kingland   Mixing,Engineer
Marcia Blaessle   Illustrations
Joe Lambert   Mastering
Trevor Powers   Arranger,Composer,Programming,Art Direction,Additional Production
Alex Tumay   Assistant Engineer
Joe D'Agostino   Assistant Engineer