Youth Lagoon w/ Blessed Feathers and Porcelain Raft

It's funny how a little bit of talent is all it takes to make even some of the most exhausted sounds feel new again. Released last year through Fat Possum Records, songwriter Trevor Powers' debut album as Youth Lagoon, <i>The Year of Hibernation</i>, was crafted exclusively from oft-abused indie-rock signatures: twee melodies, lullaby-tuned keyboards and hazy, bedroom production, all topped off by a tiny, androgynous voice. Even the album's packaging was tired, its vaguely vintage-looking cover photo indistinguishable from those of so many vapid chillwave records from the last few years. The music itself, though, is utterly vibrant and alive, poignant and uplifting like few other recent indie-rock records. Powers' gift is knowing how to use flimsy sounds to convey great scope. Even his smallest, most lo-fi constructions suggest real grandeur.