In his first full-length album as Washed Out, Ernest Greene has created a set of electronic songs that represents a bit of a musical head-scratcher. This is not a bad thing, however. It is simply hard to peg as an example of one musical genre.
“Within and Without” manages to straddle the line between the two opposing musical genres of dance and ambient music. The result is 40 minutes of music that brings to mind Moby’s recent work on “Destroyed.”
What makes this album a bit difficult to analyze is the minimalistic attitude at work in much of it. These songs are, for the most part, relaxing and low-key. There isn’t a whole lot of melodic complexity in any one track.
That being said, what’s there is generally beautiful. From shimmering synthesizers to the occasional piano, Greene sprinkles musicality generously throughout “Within and Without.”
Even the vocals on the album fall under the category of minimalist, simply because they are so vague and hard to understand. This appears to be deliberate. For the purposes of this album, Greene’s voice is meant to serve as another instrument, something with which to create a range of notes and not necessarily a coherent narrative.
While some will not miss clear lyrics, others will be distracted from the rest of the music while trying to decipher cavernous and echoing vocals that are probably not meant to be entirely understood.
The possible exceptions to this rule are the songs “Amor Fati” and “A Dedication” in that the listener can pick up a fair portion of the lyrics, though they are by no means crystal clear.
At times, this sparse approach can leave a track lacking substance. At times, the listener is left wishing that Greene added just a couple more musical elements to a song to keep it from becoming stagnant, as is the case with “Soft,” a pretty and shiny-sounding song that unfortunately fails to evolve in any major way. For many listeners, this album will be simply too calm to maintain their interest.
Minor flaws aside, however, the album contains several standout songs for listeners to enjoy.
The appropriately-named “Echoes” brings to mind the musical ghosts of the “˜80s without the presence of cheesy synthesizers, while “Far Away” is a beautiful track that benefits from the addition of piano and strings to create the most ambient track on the album.
“Before” is the most epic song on the album. It begins with an upbeat rhythm and, as the song progresses, becomes a majestic few minutes of electronic beauty. Immediately after “Before” comes “You and I,” easily the most otherworldly track on “Within and Without.” In it, Greene uses the most melodic ideas of any song on the CD, resulting in a slightly odd collection of musical components that somehow fit together nicely in a thoroughly enjoyable and quirky track.
In what is always a pleasant surprise, the best song on the album is actually the final song. “A Dedication” is a heartbreakingly beautiful song. Greene prominently features an affected piano, which sounds ever so slightly out of tune. Before listening to the song, this may seem pointless and even a bad decision, but after hearing the track, this effect makes the song so raw, poignant and vulnerable that it cuts right into the listener’s heart.
“Within and Without” sounds as though it is floating. The songs on the album are light and pretty without being frivolous, and Greene threads musical needles with a refreshing maturity and sense of discretion.
Listeners who are looking for an album to listen to while laying on a hill with their thoughts need look no further. Though it certainly can be interpreted as an album of low-key dance music, Ernest Greene’s first full-length set of songs is best appreciated as a meandering and meditative 40 minutes of pure and spacey relaxation.
““ Andrew Bain
Email Bain at [email protected].