Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 24
  2. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. Mar 5, 2013
    91
    With Wondrous Bughouse, Powers has deftly managed his expanded musical toolset to craft an impressively sophisticated and compelling--yet often unsettling--collection of psych-noise arrangements, with much to burrow into and explore on repeat listens.
  2. Overall, Wondrous Bughouse is a beautiful, experimental album that never forgets that above all, music is an art form and is meant to be experience as is film, art, or literature.
  3. 90
    Wondrous Bughouse is a delicious collage: provocative, allusive and consistently engaging.
  4. Mar 4, 2013
    87
    Though the songs themselves are wonderful, that's the powerful source Powers taps into here: if you feel like the dark center of the universe or simply need a little space, Wondrous Bughouse obliges.
  5. 83
    Youth Lagoon’s sophomore record stands tall and sure-footed.
  6. Mar 18, 2013
    80
    As effortlessly rich as Wondrous Bughouse seems for the listener, it's evident this record took Powers to places he wishes he’d never been. Darkness has never sounded so gloriously technicolor.
  7. Mar 14, 2013
    80
    Like the most memorable trips, this one creates some sublime eidetic imagery.
  8. Mar 7, 2013
    80
    A few tracks ease into each other too easily and are forgettable, but there’s still an overall sense of growth and fruition.
  9. Mar 7, 2013
    80
    Wondrous Bughouse, with its epic sprawl and quaint curiosity, successfully captures through its music the idea that the smaller you are, the easier you’re dazzled and overwhelmed by the world around you.
  10. Mar 6, 2013
    80
    Like Animal Collective, Youth Lagoon craft modernist pop so perfectly of its time that we're hardly aware of how much time has passed.
  11. Mar 4, 2013
    80
    He’s growing within himself and outward, emerging with work that’s as mystical and memorable as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
  12. Mar 18, 2013
    70
    He’s mulling over cosmic, metaphysical thoughts: about time and space, good and evil, love and death, all in music that certifies every uncertainty.
  13. Mar 14, 2013
    70
    The density of its production and the slipperiness of its song structures ensures that this album isn’t for everyone. But for those with a high tolerance for psychedelic whimsy and the time to invest in repeated listens, Wondrous Bughouse offers ample pleasures.
  14. Mar 7, 2013
    70
    Powers is going all in on this one, inviting you into his Wondrous Bughouse and daring to pour light into an often dark place.
  15. Mar 5, 2013
    70
    While Wondrous Bughouse may not be for everyone, it certainly pushes new barriers.
  16. Mar 5, 2013
    70
    The production values mean that, even though Powers' reverent anthems aren't a huge departure from what he's done in the past, the results have added gravitas.
  17. Mar 4, 2013
    70
    As one comes to appreciate them through repeated listens, it becomes clear that what initially sounds like a letdown is, from another vantage point, an impressive achievement.
  18. Mar 4, 2013
    70
    Wondrous Bughouse is an undeniably impressive-sounding album that will please fans who loved The Year of Hibernation for its intricate sonics, but those who empathized with its emotions might feel a tad disconnected.
  19. Tiptoeing through the dark fairytale forests of ‘Sleep Paralysis’ can be fun, but this is so woozy-sounding it should come with a warning not to operate heavy machinery while listening.
  20. Mar 6, 2013
    68
    Powers affords himself a more experimental stance, lacing warped warbles and sketchy interludes between the seams of his brand of kaleidoscopic builder tracks.
  21. Mar 4, 2013
    68
    If The Year of Hibernation was childhood nostalgia, this is existentialist pubescence.
  22. Q Magazine
    Apr 10, 2013
    60
    10 ready-made, slightly wonky theme tunes. [May 2013, p.113]
  23. Mar 11, 2013
    40
    Wondrous Bughouse doesn’t expand Youth Lagoon’s sound so much as pour neon-colored Kool-Aid onto it until it’s diluted to a point where it’s almost difficult to hold onto much of anything in these songs.
  24. Mar 4, 2013
    40
    With both the humor and production style of his densely layered music remaining overwrought, Wondrous Bughouse leaves a distinct impression that it was a lot more fun to make than it is to listen to.
User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 55 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 55
  2. Negative: 2 out of 55
  1. Mar 5, 2013
    9
    This is a gorgeously lush listen, but it takes patience and persistence. While The Year of Hibernation may have been more accessible, and hadThis is a gorgeously lush listen, but it takes patience and persistence. While The Year of Hibernation may have been more accessible, and had some organic moments that Wondrous Bughouse lacks, Powers' sophomore followup is a wholly rewarding listen that has stronger songwriting, better production, and a more realized sense of scope. There is room for improvement, but nevertheless, Trevor Powers has outdone himself this time around. Full Review »
  2. Mar 11, 2015
    8
    C'est, pour moi, un album incontournable de l'année 2013. Trevor Powers présente un album étrange, empreint d'un certain surréalisme. CetteC'est, pour moi, un album incontournable de l'année 2013. Trevor Powers présente un album étrange, empreint d'un certain surréalisme. Cette œuvre présente plusieurs éléments hors de l'ordinaire en commençant par la grande qualité du mix psycho-ambiant des compositions. C'est un tour de force. Âgé de seulement 23années, Powers agence les 10 chansons de l'album avec une expertise accomplie. Cette notion fortifie l'album et créer une unité extravagante et déjantée. En autres mots, l'album mérite d'être écouté dans son ensemble dans le but d'en tirer l'essence des compositions dans son entièreté. Powers ajoute sa voix febrile aux textes porteurs de rêve, de thématiques religieuses et d'une certaine innocence: « The water talks to me – It teaches me to swim. - Watching myself bathe- without never going in. – The currents sings to me - in crowning harmony. - A reel without film - To watch is not to see» (The Bath). Certaines sonorité sont dans la même ligné que DeerHunter ou même Tame Impala. Le tour de force de Powers aura été de laisser de l'espace aux textes alors que les procédés musicaux de Wondrous Bughouse occasionnent de lourdes mélodies ainsi que de pesantes ambiances. Full Review »
  3. May 15, 2013
    9
    A beautifully haunting head-phones album that sounds just as good blaring from your speakers. The songs are more diverse and varied from YouthA beautifully haunting head-phones album that sounds just as good blaring from your speakers. The songs are more diverse and varied from Youth Lagoon's debut, and offer far more enjoyable listening experiences. It may not be as approachable or tuneful, but the instrumentation is more robust and full-sounding and the lyrical content expands to provide some thought provoking tracks. It's a wonderful album that makes a strong case as one of 2013's best Full Review »