The first thing we noticed about Wondrous Bughouse (Fat Possum, March 5th) is how full of life it is, how it seems to turn the fragile black and white frames of the last Youth Lagoon LP into a hi-fi explosion of primary colors and hopeful hooks. Its lead single is a perfect example; inspired by a close friend who passed away when Powers was younger, it doesn’t let death win. It seizes the day in a way some of us never will.
“There could be somebody who lives to be 26 years old,” Powers explained over the phone recently, “and they might have lived a lot shorter of a life, but the entire time their awareness was so much higher and amplified…It’s that whole idea that, yeah, all of us are mortal, but life for each person isn’t taken down to years; it’s taken down to our actual existence.”
Hear what he means down below, and be sure to check out our next issue for the rest of our in-depth interview…
Youth Lagoon tour dates:
2/25: A Club, Spokane, WA
2/26: Badlander, Missoula, MT
2/27: Filling Station, Bozeman, MT
2/28: Kilby Court, Salt Lake City, UT
3/01: Larimer Lounge Denver, CO
6/05: Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY *
* = w/ The National
