Youth Lagoon is the outlet for Boise, Idaho's Trevor Powers' most personal hopes and fears, which he set to dreamy yet tenacious lo-fi pop. After releasing three albums, Powers ended the project for a time in 2016, but he returned rejuvenated in 2023 with fourth full-length Heaven Is a Junkyard, an Americana-tinged reading of his songwriting centered around his vocals and upright piano.

Powers posted his first Youth Lagoon song online in May 2011, sparking buzz that resulted in a deal with Fat Possum Records. Arriving that September, his first album, The Year of Hibernation, dealt with psychological dysphoria. The more expansive Wondrous Bughouse, which drew comparisons to vintage Pink Floyd and the Flaming Lips and revolved around "the struggle between the physical and the spiritual world," was released in March 2013. Powers then decamped to England to work with co-producer Ali Chant at Toybox Studios in Bristol. The results became Savage Hills Ballroom, Youth Lagoon's third studio long-player, which saw release in 2015. On February 1, 2016, Powers announced the end of the Youth Lagoon project.

For the next few years, Powers released experimental tapes under his own name, including 2018's Mulberry Violence and 2020's Capricorn. In 2021, Powers was inspired to write new material that he eventually realized should be used to reactivate Youth Lagoon. The songs had elements of country and Americana mixed in with Powers' signature songwriting style, and many of the tunes were based around haunting piano as the core instrument. Powers recorded the new album, Heaven Is a Junkyard, with producer Rodaidh McDonald over a six-week period and released it in June of 2023. ~ TiVo Staff