Within and Without

Web-savvy connoisseurs of dreamy electronic music first noticed Ernest Greene, aka Washed Out, via Life of Leisure, a five-song EP's worth of hazy memories of '80s synth and hip-hop beats. Though the Georgia-based bedroom musician refuses to tour behind his songs and downplays the high amount of ‘flavor of the week' plaudits he's received, he's crafted a more than respectable full-length debut. As a musician, Greene's greatest asset is his ability to evoke a full decade's worth of vintage electronic decadence without dropping names or skirting simple synth-pop clichés. Crucially, it's not a full-on Bennetton-era nostalgia trip: alongside the trendy chillwave aesthetic that's brought forth artists like Neon Indian and Greene's friend Chaz Bundick, aka Toro Y Moi, Within and Without also evokes Sigur Ros' warmth and Boards of Canada's electronic sprawl. "Amor Fati" emerges as Washed Out's most full-fledged pop song to date, "Before" packs some wonderful vocal sampling, and "You and I", a single first released last summer, hauls chillwave's hazy pulse back into the picture. Although the album's success could hinge in large part on the blogosphere's fickle tastes and truthfully adds little to his already-established sound, it's a pleasant DIY bedroom-pop mosaic.