Album Review: Washed Out – Within and Without
Rating: 8.3/10
It’s like closing your eyes and letting yourself sink into a deep pool of ocean water mixed with stardust. At least that can be one of many reactions to Washed Out’s Ernest Greene’s debut full-length oeuvre as well-established chillwave staple. Washed Out started to gain notoriety in 2009 when music bloggers stumbled onto his myspace page. Having started to produce songs from equipment in his bedroom, he went on to release two EPs in ’09 and perform at the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival. His music is reminiscent of snyth and funk bass-heavy sounds of ’80s and ’90s neopsycheldia, and chips from the blocks of groups like The Chemical Brothers and The Soft Boys. Even influences from some of the more trippy Beatles songs like “Tomorrow Never Knows” and “Within You Without You” can be heard, though only in terms of feeling at the core of the songs.
A compilation of synthesized riffs and electronic beats, Within and Without is a selection of songs that call to mind the ethereal- images as abstract as turquoise fields illuminated by neon birds amidst stars strung in the sky like icicle lights. Don’t ask me to quote you any lyrics from the songs, because they’re practically incomprehensible, almost serving as instruments themselves in the layer cake of tones. The first song, “Eyes Be Closed”, is well-placed, effortlessly reeling you into the world of the unseen. “Far Away” is perhaps one of the more resonant tracks- the strings create a beautiful melody and add that gritty bow-on-string depth, (even if severely produced.) The title track opens with some deliciously dissonant piano riffs that stick around in the background of ambient vocals and instrumental colors. The sequence on the way out of the song (that parallels something akin to glass clinking or chimes ringing) perfectly perpetuates the dream-like feeling evoked by much of the album.
The record is like a smorgasbord for the auditory senses, a collage of aural tidbits, constructed to form well-produced, artful electronic beats. Hip-hop-inspired songwriting skills are what sets Greene’s music apart from the millions of people mashing together samples on Fruity Loops or GarageBand and calling it electronica. One criticism I will venture in regards to the album as a whole is that the collection of songs holds little stylistic diversity. Few acoustic-sounding instruments make their voices heard, with the exception of the percussion in “Soft” and the piano in the balladic and lyric-driven “A Dedication”. This slight variety in instrumentation breaks the overflow of glossily produced beats and shimmering, synthetic instrumentals, but not by much.
Despite a slightly narrow scope of instrumental character, the album has many qualities that denote a well-versed musician and production guru. It has addictive rhythms that fulfill the periodic craving (that I know every music junkie gets) for the head nod-able, dream-like minimalism of songs built on a patchwork of three-chord progressions and two-note bass lines. Essentially, it’s all about how they’re melded together to convey feeling, to capture a moment. In Within and Without, less is most certainly more.
Washed Out- Eyes Be Closed
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Album not nearly as good as earlier work!
I am disappoint
This album is still very solid and I think it warrants the attention it’s getting. A few of the tracks, particularly “Before” blow my mind!