Washed Out

Since releasing his debut EP High Times under the name Washed Out in 2009, Atlanta-based producer Ernest Greene’s lovely lo-fi samples have caught the ear of everyone from independent and major blogs to Adult Swim and Sub Pop Records, who he signed with in April of this year. But while EPs and Internet hype are fine, all is for naught without a solid debut album, and this one certainly does not disappoint. Within and Without is 40 minutes of soft synths that rise and fall over steady hip-hop percussion like waves under a full moon, narrated by Greene’s own plaintive vocals. Deft variations in tempo between each song make this album equally as suitable to a moonlit drive up the coast as it would to a raucous game of beer-pong. And though he falls into the line of lo-fi sample-based artists before him (Boards of Canada, DJ Shadow), Greene’s music distinguishes itself from the others by the way his vocals fit into the structure; these are songs, not tracks, and they prove that Greene has certainly found a voice for himself.