Washed Out cleans up

Despite being one of the vanguards of chillwave, Washed Out has very little recorded presence to speak of. Previously, they only had a few EPs to their name.

That all changes with “Within and Without,” their first long-player and the band’s strongest effort yet.

Washed Out is essentially the solo project of Ernest Greene. His music is bass-heavy, but never gets weighed down in the muck.

Nearly every song he has created is instantly danceable, even if the production is sometimes shoddy.

On his previous release, the excellent “Life of Leisure” EP, the cruddy sound sometimes got in the way of enjoying the tracks.

The vocals would stutter at each drum beat in an obnoxious way, and subtle keyboard additions were often lost in the mix.

“Within and Without” features considerably better production than its predecessor.
The songs are cleaned up enough to expose the diverse textures without ever becoming cold or sterile.

It’s immediately obvious there isn’t a bad song on this album.

If nothing sticks out quite as much as some of the tracks on “Life of Leisure,” that’s just because there is so much excellent material to sift through.

Still, “Before” and “You and I” manage to function as dual centerpieces for the album.
The latter track was originally released as a single for Adult Swim and now finds a home on the album proper.

Washed Out’s stature among fans has been continually rising, and the new album may be their ticket to real success.

It’s hard to think of people who won’t like this album. There may be a few, but “Within and Without” is still a safe bet.