Sometimes I come upon a record that doesn’t yell, it doesn’t declare, it simply is. Youth Lagoon’s debut The Year of Hibernation is one such album. I’ll get this out of the way as soon as possible; I think it is truly a triumph. It is as beautiful as the countryside of Montana and as innocent and joyful as the youthful moments encapsulated in its songs. It is a masterpiece.
As a stereotypical music addicted, Pitchfork reading hipster, I get new music on an almost daily basis, so few albums ever bury themselves into my mind deep enough for me to come back and listen to them in their entirety after a month or so. The Year of Hibernation is different. I’ve been playing it in its entirety almost every other day for the past two months. Its one of those albums that works best played start to finish, in one fell swoop. However, to single out a few highlights, “Cannons”, “Seventeen”, and the stunningly emotional “Montana” are worth the extra listen. There is a spirit in “Montana” as great as the spirit singer Trevor Powers sings about in the chorus. (For the record, Powers is from Idaho, not Montana.)
On the subject of “Montana”, its worth a look at Tyler T. Williams’ music video for the song, which perfectly encapsulates the Americana of the song and may in fact be one of the greatest music videos I’ve ever seen. The concept of a sepia-toned look into the life of a middle aged man remembering his deceased father may seem cliche, but somehow it isn’t. Its gut wrenchingly emotional and honest and has left me and every friend I’ve ever showed the video to on the verge of tears. Hopefully it will appear at the bottom of this entry.
Getting back to the album as a whole, I think one main reason I find it so powerful is its ability to whisper and warble silently one moment and then swell to a crescendo a second later. Consider the chorus of “Cannons”, where the stanza is first said quietly to a solitary piano before it is repeated with a sense of volume and bravado. The same concept comes before the chorus to “Montana”, where a piano rings through distortion before growing to include other harmonizing instruments and finally, a chorus to be screamed with a sense of ultimate release and catharsis: “There’s a spirit in Montana and in your chest a soul, oh what a soul/I tried to be the middleman between you and this list/I couldn't move as the footsteps neared closer to me from the monsters that feed/I swore that I wouldn't bleed.. I won't bleed/There’s a spirit in Montana a note that rings like bells of cathedrals rung by the village scapegoat”.
I also think I find it moving because many of the moments depicted in the songs are moments I can either directly relate to or wish I could relate to. I feel for Powers when he says “you make real friends quickly/but not me” in “Posters”, I know that feeling of being guarded about friendship while being around someone who is outgoing towards all. Likewise, I really wish that “when I was seventeen my mother said to me/ don’t stop imaging/the day that you do is the day that you die”. These moments remind me of my childhood, a time I usually regard as rocky and difficult but in the half hour space of The Year of Hibernation I look back on with wistful thoughts. Its as if my memories are being sepia-toned with nostalgia.
I like that, it makes me happy. So does The Year of Hibernation. It moves me, it makes me publicly misty eyed at times, but mostly it makes me thankful for the happy times in life, both those in the past and the present ones being created. Powers summarizes it best: “And I was having fun/we were all having fun”.
P.S. - In the unlikely event that this is read by anybody related to Youth Lagoon, please come play at Bard College! Your last show in New York was 21+ and that was a pity.
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