Powers posted his first Youth Lagoon song online in May 2011, sparking buzz that resulted in a deal with Fat Possum Records. His first album, The Year of Hibernation, dealt with psychological dysphoria and arrived that September. 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 decamped to England for his fourth album, working with co-producer Ali Chant at Toybox Studios in Bristol. The results became Savage Hills Ballroom, Youth Lagoon's third studio long player, which dropped in 2015. On February 1, 2016, Powers announced the end of the Youth Lagoon project. ~ Heather Phares