[6] Youth Lagoon's debut album, The Year of Hibernation, was released on Fat Possum Records on September 27, 2011.

[7] Based on minimalism and hypnotic ambience melded with atmospheric and electronic elements, the debut explored themes such as psychological dysphoria and mental distress.

[10][11] Youth Lagoon's tour in support of Wondrous Bughouse was cut short due to the death of a close friend of Powers.

On May 2, 2018, Powers announced his return to music by issuing a personal letter[2] along with the single "Playwright", his first song release since 2015.

[17] Powers released two more singles from the forthcoming album, "Ache" and "Plaster Saint" with a newly penned letter providing more insight into the project.

[19] In October 2021 after taking an over-the-counter medication, Powers had a severe drug reaction which turned his stomach into a "non-stop geyser of acid," coating his larynx and vocal cords for eight months.

By Christmas, he could no longer speak, turning to text messages and a pen and paper as his only ways to communicate.