Trevor Powers (born March 18, 1989), better known by his stage name Youth Lagoon, is an American musician from

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

. Youth Lagoon's music has been described as

neo-psychedelia Neo-psychedelia is a genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the music production approaches and songwriting of 1960s psychedelia, either exploring emulations of the sounds of the era or applying its ethos to new styles of music ...

, and includes elements of

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

and

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

. Powers was initially active as Youth Lagoon between 2010 and 2016, releasing three studio albums – ''

The Year of Hibernation ''The Year of Hibernation'' is the debut album of American artist Youth Lagoon, the stage name of musician Trevor Powers. The album was released on September 27, 2011, on the independent record label Fat Possum Records. It peaked at No. 41 on th ...

'' (2011), '' Wondrous Bughouse'' (2013) and '' Savage Hills Ballroom'' (2015) – before announcing his retirement from the project. He returned to music in 2018, releasing two studio albums under his own name, before announcing the return of his Youth Lagoon moniker in 2022. Working closely with producer

Rodaidh McDonald Roderick William George "Rodaidh" McDonald is a Scottish record producer, and record company executive. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and currently resides in Los Angeles, California, United States. His production and mixing credits include ...

, Powers released his fourth Youth Lagoon album, '' Heaven Is a Junkyard'', in 2023 to widespread critical acclaim. The album was followed by '' Rarely Do I Dream'' in 2025, to further acclaim, with its lyrical content rooted in boyhood memoir and old-world folklore and incorporates samples from

home movies A home movie is a short amateur film or video typically made just to preserve a visual record of family activities, a vacation, or a special event, and intended for viewing at home by family and friends. Originally, home movies were made on ph ...

Career

2011–2016: Youth Lagoon, ''The Year of Hibernation'', ''Wondrous Bughouse'' and ''Savage Hills Ballroom''

Youth Lagoon's debut album, ''

'', was released on

Fat Possum Records Fat Possum Records is an American independent record label based in Water Valley and Oxford, Mississippi. At first Fat Possum focused almost entirely on recording previously unknown Mississippi blues artists (typically from Oxford or Holly Sprin ...

on September 27, 2011. Based on minimalism and hypnotic ambience melded with atmospheric and electronic elements, the debut explored themes such as psychological dysphoria and mental distress. Youth Lagoon's second album, '' Wondrous Bughouse,'' was released on March 5, 2013, by Fat Possum. It was spawned from what he described as "becoming more fascinated with the human psyche and where spirituality meets the physical world." During the time he composed the album, Powers became intrigued with

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

and he blended those ideas with pop music. Youth Lagoon's tour in support of ''Wondrous Bughouse'' was cut short due to the death of a close friend of Powers. On November 12, 2014, Powers announced, via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

, that writing for his third album had been finished. Recording started in January 2015. The July 10, 2015, release of "The Knower", a free single-sided 7" single, marked the announcement of his third album, '' Savage Hills Ballroom'', released on September 25, 2015. In July 2015, Youth Lagoon announced a US tour in support of ''Savage Hills Ballroom''.

2016–2022: Releasing music under his own name

On February 1, 2016, Powers announced on Twitter that his Youth Lagoon project was concluding. On May 2, 2018, Powers announced his return to music by issuing a personal letter along with the single "Playwright", his first song release since 2015. The letter elaborated on Power's self-titled project, highlighting the project as a new work. On May 20, 2018, he announced that he would release his first album under his own name, '' Mulberry Violence'', in late 2018. Powers released two more singles from the forthcoming album, "Ache" and "Plaster Saint" with a newly penned letter providing more insight into the project. On July 29, 2020, Powers surprise-released his second album as Trevor Powers, titled '' Capricorn,'' along with limited-edition cassettes and booklet designed by Los Angeles-based designer Collin Fletcher, who also designed the artwork for the album.

2022–present: Return to Youth Lagoon, ''Heaven Is a Junkyard'' and ''Rarely Do I Dream''

On November 10, 2022, Powers announced that he would be releasing a new album as Youth Lagoon. He recorded the album with producer

. Powers credited his discovery of

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

as a motivating factor in returning to the Youth Lagoon name: "The creative portal opened up in a way that I never thought was possible. That's why Youth Lagoon as an entity is, for all intents and purposes, such a brand new project now. When I killed it off in 2016, there was no clarity in my life. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know where to take it. When I had that spiritual reset, it fine-tuned my my eyes and that deep part of my soul, in a way where it showed me exactly what to do with music and where I'm going." The resulting album, '' Heaven Is a Junkyard'', was released June 9, 2023 on

. The album received widespread critical acclaim, receiving a Best New Music accolade from

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

and placing highly on several publications' end-of-year lists. Powers released his fifth Youth Lagoon album, '' Rarely Do I Dream'', on February 21, 2025, to further acclaim, with its lyrical content rooted in spiritualism, old-world folklore, and boyhood memoir informed by Powers' discovery of

home videos Home video is recorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. In a different us ...

in his parents' basement. In February 2025, he announced a tour in support of the album.

Personal life

In October 2021 after taking an over-the-counter medication, Powers had a severe drug reaction which turned his stomach into a "non-stop geyser of acid," coating his larynx and vocal cords for eight months. "I saw seven doctors and multiple specialists. I lost over thirty pounds. No one could help me," says Powers. By Christmas, he could no longer speak, turning to text messages and a pen and paper as his only ways to communicate. "I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to speak again, let alone sing," he says. "It all felt symbolic in a way," he adds. "I’d been swallowing fear all my life and now here it was coming back up. I used to think God watches people suffer. Now I know God suffers with you. That changed everything.” Trevor's voice slowly came back as he recorded music for ''Heaven Is a Junkyard''.

Discography

As Youth Lagoon

Studio albums

*''

'' (2011,

) *'' Wondrous Bughouse'' (2013, Fat Possum Records) *'' Savage Hills Ballroom'' (2015, Fat Possum Records) *'' Heaven Is a Junkyard'' (2023, Fat Possum Records) *'' Rarely Do I Dream'' (2025, Fat Possum Records)

Singles

*''Youth Lagoon''" 7" (2011, Fat Possum Records) *"Mute" promo CD, digital (2013, Fat Possum Records) *"The Knower" 7", digital (2015, Fat Possum Records) *"Idaho Alien" digital (2023, Fat Possum Records) *"Prizefighter" digital (2023, Fat Possum Records) *"The Sling" digital (2023, Fat Possum Records) *"Football" 7", digital (2024, Fat Possum Records) *"Lucy Takes a Picture" 7", digital (2024, Fat Possum Records) *"My Beautiful Girl" 7", digital (2024, Fat Possum Records) *"Speed Freak" digital (2025, Fat Possum Records) *"Gumshoe (Dracula From Arkansas)" (2025, Fat Possum Records)

As Trevor Powers

Studio albums

* '' Mulberry Violence'' (2018, Baby Halo) * '' Capricorn'' (2020,

)

Singles

* "Playwright" digital (2018, Baby Halo) * "Ache" digital (2018, Baby Halo) * "Plaster Saint" digital (2018, Baby Halo)

External links

Official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Trevor American pop musicians Fat Possum Records artists Musicians from Idaho Musicians from San Diego Musicians from Boise, Idaho 1989 births Living people