You could say that Tyler Zanon is growing up.

It’s evident in the way he talks about music—and it’s evident in the music itself.

The Vancouver artist behind the solo alternative emo project Youth Fountain has always enjoyed the opportunity to express himself through his work.

“I found it very creatively fulfilling and very fun to do,” he says via phone. “It was always an outlet for me when I was feeling really depressed.”

But as Zanon, now 28, looks towards the future, he reflects on moving from the angst of his youth to a more mature sound—reflected in both the lyrics and tempo of his third album, Together in Lonesome, which was released in November 2023.

“You’ve got to try to really write from the heart and the soul and really mean something, or else people will recognize that it’s not,” he says. “And will they like it as much? It’s tough to do that and capture that every single time.”

The new album has certainly captured the emotions that Zanon wants to share with his fans. Songs like “Roses In My Backpack” and “A Few Notes for Orpheus” stand out from the rest. 

“When I first started recording it, I would listen to ‘Roses In My Backpack’ the most,” he says. “Hearing it come together was really cool.”

After years of singing both clean and screaming lyrics, Zanon has landed in a sweet spot of melding the two styles—another sign of his musical maturation.

“As I get older,” he says, “I definitely like the cleaner stuff.”

Zanon is embarking on a tour in support of Together in Lonesome, with a hometown show at the Rickshaw on May 2. For this tour, he’ll be performing some acoustic sets before the main shows. Doing acoustic versions of his songs has long been a mainstay of Youth Fountain, with Zanon recording pared-down versions of select EPs.

“You can hear things differently through an acoustic version,” he explains, “that you might not have heard through all the distorted guitars and drums.”

Fans can look forward to Together in Lonesome getting the same stripped-down treatment in the future.

“I’m planning on doing another acoustic EP for the Together in Lonesome album,” Zanon shares. “I’ll be working on that this summer.”

Something to look forward to—just like aging.

Youth Fountain plays the Rickshaw on May 2. Get tickets here.