Description
2020, 12″ LP, Sub Pop. Clear vinyl ‘Loser Edition’.
Whenever you see the name, read about or hear anything by Washed Out you can’t help feel a prang of nostalgia and, in 2020 at least, a twinge of envy. Known to some as Ernest Greene, towards the end of the 00s he burst, or rather eased himself onto a chillwave scene then in rude health. A time when things had found a lackadaisical groove, before the last decade’s cynical affectations set in. He’s not veered from those windswept beaches since, and this latest effort has moments that take us closer to the whispy almost-house music of an oceanside cocktail bar than ever before (namely ‘Time To Walk Away’, one of three tracks here unveiled before the album arrived). It’s blissed out stuff but it’s also pretty poignant, with lyrical themes often centring on taking stock and working out what to do with the hand you’ve been left with. – Juno