Youth Lagoon’s debut, The Year of Hibernation, was a deeply isolated catharsis — a nostalgic record, wrapped warmly in a comforting loneliness. “Dropla,” the first single from his upcoming sophomore effort, Wondrous Bughouse, remains rooted in the same solitary state. However, the track feels notches nearer and clearer, sounding as if Mr. Powers is pulling back the shades and fumbling with the keys, ready to unlock the door.
“Dropla” opens with the warble-y synths and vocals that have come to define Youth Lagoon, but the clarity of his innocent voice invites a raw, exposed element to his melancholy. The result is unobstructed, deeper-cutting lyrics that make it obvious Trevor Powers is still knee-deep in some heavy shit. The chorus is composed of “You’ll never die” (as sobering a set of words as any I’ve ever heard), and to whomever it’s directed at — a friend, a ghost, or himself — it packs a powerful punch.
Yet the real curve comes from the real drums, which replace the blown-out kit that bumped all over his earlier stuff. They aid in shifting the focus to the words, which carry a courageously uplifting and devastating story, until the swoosh and swarm of a building bridge force them to give out. The track then ends in a two-minute outro: a gorgeous, untroubled calm in the wake of a haunting storm.
If anything, “Dropla” confirms that Youth Lagoon remains the output for Trevor’s dire obsession with death and fear of all things fleeting. His ability to not only continuously confront his demons, but to further open up to his audience make “Dropla” feel like a brave, yet strangely familiar step into the unknown.