My Forever Summer Album
The Year of Hibernation by Trevor Powers is an album that lives and breathes summer. Personally, there just aren't many better feelings than finals week ending. Not yet knowing if you've passed or failed, but also not really caring, at least for the moment. Knowing there's no exams or homework for quite some time gives you that peace of mind with an entire summer sitting in front of you. Well, this album became the soundtrack to that feeling.
When my brother first introduced this album to me, I didn't think much of it. I was young and really unable to relate to or fathom anything that was being said. This is really one of those albums you begin to relate to as you get older and begin to look back on your coming of age. This whole album just reminds me of my childhood. The dreamy overlay of pop sounds with so many layers really flood in the memories. The second track on the album, "Cannons," relays a message of holding onto hope through hardships. "Afternoon", this idea of always being anxious even when you feel depressed and empty. "July" parallels the story of watching fireworks on the Fourth of July and coming to terms with a relationship that ended.
I still remember discovering this song, and two weeks later, watching the film The Kings of Summer and hearing this song play into the outro. "17," the first Youth Lagoon song I ever heard. Literally makes me freeze and space out. The lyrics, the sounds, the melancholic feeling of time passing and your youth slipping away.
The personal experiences and memories attached to this album are why I love this album. When I look back on the summers of the past, I'm reminded of the days when we were free and innocent. No responsibilities and days that never seemed to end. Just experiencing things for the first time and learning things about yourself along the way. Truly one of the albums that defined my coming of age.
Your point about the album only making sense once you're older really resonates. It's interesting how a record can sit unremarkably for years and then suddenly unlock a whole period of your life. I wonder whether that shift comes from the music changing or from us finally having enough lived experience to hear what was always there. Do you think you'd relate to it the same way if you discovered it now for the first time?
Useful reference: https://opus5video.com/