After a few albums under the name Youth Lagoon, Trevor Powers released his first album under his own name, Mulberry Violence, back in 2018. Today, he has followed it up with an experimental new album called Capricorn, which is available in its entirety right now.
Capricorn continues Powers’ exploration into unusual sonic terrains, but is the deepest plunge he’s taken yet, featuring plenty of field recordings and practically no vocals. He says:
“The field recordings are mostly a patchwork of nature: wind, insects, rain, birds, frogs, streams, thunder but with their voices mangled and played with. I fell in love with the idea that everything has a voice. Combining those with piano melodies felt like some kind of Mister Rogers hallucination. I also created some crude digital instruments out of noise pollution, like planes and highways – but the most natural sounds were always the most alien. I wanted to make something that felt as peaceful as it was haunting. Anything that did that and served the music, I made use of…. This is music for our digital coma.“
“Alien” is certainly the word for it. Powers has always had a way of presenting his seasick and unsettling vision of the world on his music, and Capricorn is the utmost distillation of that yet. This is the kind of album that asks you to step inside it and take away your own images and interpretations – but there is no doubt that it is brimming with natural life.
The album is available to buy digitally from Trevor Powers’ Bandcamp, and there is also the option to purchase the special edition book and cassette version of Capricorn.
Listen to Capricorn via the embeds below.
