Boise-based singer/songwriter Trevor Powers is the creative mastermind behind the critically applauded psych/dream pop recording project Youth Lagoon. After a lengthy hiatus, which saw him recording under his own name, Powers returned with the critically applauded Heaven Is a Junkyard, the first Youth Lagoon album in eight years.

Powers begins 2024 with “Football,” the follow-up to Heaven Is a Junkyard, which sees him continuing his collaboration with co-producer Rodaidh McDonald. “Football” is a dreamily minimalistic track built around twinkling keys, a supple bass line, jazz-inflected four-on-the-floor-like rhythms and bursts of bluesy guitar paired with Powers’ gentle croon waxing metaphysically while telling tales of damaged people and failure with a compassionate, knowing sense of empathy.

“‘Football’ is really a celebration of failure,” Powers says. “Society has a terrible habit of only recognizing achievement while glossing over the greatness in the shadows. We’re so distracted trying to earn love, worth and value that we forget it’s something we inherently already have. I wanted to play with this idea through the lens of sports ‘cuz, in a lot of ways, sports are the truest religion. When I was young, it was the only way I knew how to connect with my dad. We didn’t have a lot in common, but we could both throw the ball. There were rules and rituals we could see eye-to-eye on. We didn’t have to argue over who was right or wrong. The difference in my family was, it didn’t matter how good I was. The act of just throwing a ball was communion. It didn’t matter if I caught it. I love my Dad for that.”

“Football” is accompanied by a video by Caleb Halter that’s nostalgia-inducing and charmingly old-timey as we see footage from old parades set in the screen, much like an old photo book.