Washed Out - Within and Without

In a genre that's been beaten to death by hundreds of uninspired Fruiy Loops projects, it's downright unbelievable that there are artists out there who are still trying to revolutionize the painfully simple fad most bloggers have come to identify as "chillwave". Look no further than Toro Y Moi, an artist who's shift in musical direction has landed him a proponent of some bizarre french-disco-meets-Neon-Indian freaky deaky shit. He's not the only one this year evidently: with the latest LP by Washed Out, we meet a musician recreating the genre on steroids, and the result is a satisfying album with occasional strokes of brilliance.

It's not that Within and Without is made up of completely different musical themes, rather, Ernest Greene cranks up the dial on all the qualities that make the genre original. The synths sharply twinkle in the foreground and sustain in the back, the bass shows off streaks of funk as it trudges along in the mix, and Greene himself comes up big delivering a modest yet commendable vocal performance. All of these details can be found in any chillwave act, but Greene succeeds in producing an album that amplifies these strengths while additionally downplaying the seldom blemishes.

The album's highlight is the mid-album track "Soft". Following the brief ambient swirls, the song is soon accompanied by a delicious bassline that turns an otherwise straightforward effort into a vibrant shindig further improved by a relentless dance beat and reverbed-to-hell vocals. In the distance, synths rise and fall, adding to the mysterious nostalgic atmosphere that Within and Without practically breathes. When put together, "Soft" is everything chillwave should be; not a transparent single built by sampled drums from 1980's workout mixtapes, but genuinely laid-back music that combines our childish sentimentality with pop-hooks that'll last for the ages. There are several songs that essentially reek with this 21st century jubilation (See: any of the latter mentioned Recommended Tracks) and others that pass off as decent songs that you could probably squeeze into any indie-electronic release ("Before", "You and I" ), but looking past the few cases of filler, you have an album that's alive and impressively so.

3.5/5

Recommended Tracks: "Soft", "Amor Fati", "Eyes Be Closes", "Far Away"