Rarely Do I Dream

トレヴァー・パワーズは語る「人生そのものが雷雨のようなものだ」。今作には西部調のトレモロギター、犬の遠吠えや家族の会話といったプロト・アンビエント的な録音、そして全体を取り囲む歪んだドラムビートが彩りを添えている。西部調のトレモロギター、犬の遠吠えや家族の会話といったプロト・アンビエント的な録音、そして全体を取り囲む歪んだドラムビートが彩りを添えている。Youth Lagoon史上最も包括的で大胆なアルバムで、ホームビデオ、ファズギター、日焼けしたシンセ、クラシカルなピアノ、破裂音のようなドラム、そしてパワーズの魅惑的なメロディーの宝箱は過去の古い写真を奇妙で遠い未来に甦らせたかのようだ。

After retiring Youth Lagoon in 2016, project spearhead Trevor Powers released a pair of more experimental albums under his own name that were spacious affairs playing with layered electronics, samples, and simple beats. He resurrected Youth Lagoon, however, in 2023, for the more pastoral, piano-based Heaven Is a Junkyard. Arriving two years later, his fifth Youth Lagoon LP wasnt nearly so long in the making. Inspired by finding home movies in late 2023 of his childhood in the late 80s and early 90s, Rarely Do I Dream incorporates elements of all prior iterations of Powers, restoring a lusher, full-band palette bedded in synthesizers and fuzz (Powers has revealed that it was his first time writing primarily on guitar instead of piano), but also incorporating svelter moments and plenty of tape audio from those home movies. It begins with "Neighborhood Scene," a tribute to his Idaho homies that features nearly as much taped dialogue as new lead vocals about friends, families, and "every angel and devil out marchin on the lawn." Its all underscored by dancy grooves, a wistful melodicism, and a depth of atmosphere suited for dreams or, in Powers case, memories. Several other tracks follow a similar design, with some exceptions taking the form of the clubbier "Speed Freak," with its blurting synth bass, the shoegaze-y "Perfect World"; the at once orchestral and tinkling "Lucy Takes a Picture," with its trip-hop-like rhythms; and the piano-based "My Beautiful Girl," which features a memorably tender, brittle delivery and lilting chorus. He also introduces a slinky, noir-like pop on "Saturday Cowboy Matinee," which does include taped voices and cassette clatter. The 12-song set ends with the dialogue-heavy "Home Movies (1989-1993)," which, like much of the rest of the album, is full of affection. If theres a knock on Rarely Do I Dream (and its a light rap), its that Rarely Do I Dream sometimes seems like an album for an audience of one, like a personal collage of photographs and cards on a pinboard behind the laptop monitor in the den. ~ Marcy Donelson