Youth Lagoon Show in Boston: Dreamy Pop & Analog Sounds Enchant Fans

In the dim light of the Middle East’s downstairs venue, electronic producer Moshe Fisher-Rozenberg brought his Memory Pearl project to the bustling winds of a city caught in the chaotic turn of seasonal change. The instrumental sounds of Memory Pearl offered a calming atmosphere to a breezy Cambridge on Sunday, April 27th. Memory Pearl opened up the night in support of Trevor Powers and Youth Lagoon. Memory Pearl’s peaceful and subtle melodies provided the crowd with a set of songs perfectly composed for moments of personal reflection amidst the masses.

(Memory Pearl)

Touring out his most recent release, Rarely Do I Dream (Fat Possum Records), Youth Lagoon delivered their mix of dreamy bedroom pop fused with analogue dubs to a well-attended audience. Opening with Neighborhood Scene, Powers delved directly into the layered aspects of his personal history, and the ambient sounds that reinforce the reality of his lived experience. Taking the crowd through his discography, Cannons seemed to snap folks out of the reflective trance his music so easily imparts on his listeners. The upbeat innocence of the xylophone paired with the percussion of his live band carried the kind of cadence that draws out one’s natural inclination to sway along, tapping a foot or bopping a head. Digging into his own record crate, Powers revealed the range of his eerie – yet soothing – vocals on Idaho Alien before giving in to his most well-known track, Seventeen.

(Youth Lagoon)

Adding an industrial element to his often-meditative music, Speed Freak (ironically), picked up the pace, and went hard on the percussion. This seemed to shake folks out of the trance-like dust Youth Lagoon sprinkled over the heads of those in attendance. The vast range of analog devices echoed samples from his family’s VHS collection as the energy built into the sensual intensity of an amphetamine-fueled heart. In a rare experience for a show at the Middle East, Powers and bandmates came out for a two-song encore. Keeping the energy up, Youth Lagoon dove into Montana with its quiet, symphonic opening before exploding into a live cacophony that is not heard on the recorded version. The concentration of vitality in the drums seemed to break all pretense about Youth Lagoon’s sound. Blending all the elements of what makes YL such a unique band, they closed out with the echoing hymnal of Mute where the band dive-bombed into a banger ending that erupted over the darkened room, reminding folks that Trevor Powers is here, and he has something to say, so listen up.