Album Review: Washed Out - Paracosm

If every happy memory, every pleasant thought, every sun-drenched moment of a life was put to music, Paracosm would be the soundtrack. Washed Out, aka Ernest Greene, has returned with his second full-length album, and it's one for lazy, hazy days, where priorities are disposed of and the prosaic nature of daily life is set aside. If an unborn baby had a stereo in the womb, Paracosm would play on repeat. 

The album, Greene's follow-up to his debut LP Within And Without (2011), feels like the graduation of the artist. His precocious talent is undeniable, although it seems that up to this point his musical abilities have been hidden behind the hype his earlier releases created. While acknowledged, alongside Toro Y Moi, as a pioneer of the 'chillwave' sub-genre, at the time of Within And Without's release it was difficult to see Greene as an artist not defined by the scene.

Paracosm, however, sets all the pretension behind. The result is an honest yet surreal record that embraces the otherworld-ness that the album title evokes (paracosm a name to describe fantasy worlds: think Narnia, Middle Earth or Westeros). The lyrics “Make believe the world has vanished around us/We could sneak away and not come back” – Great Escape and “Inside our sanctuary/Where we can get away/A place to run and hide” – Paracosm are examples of the escapism that Greene encourages.

Paired with the more than 50 electronic and analog instruments that blend with Greene's lyrics, including a selection of vintage keyboards, Greene and producer Ben H Allen (Animal Collective, Cut Copy) have created a record that evokes both a timeless quality and a relevant immediacy.

The next time the sun comes out, play Paracosm. Let it wash over you. Let it cleanse your soul.