ARTIST...: Washed Out TITLE....: Purple Noon YEAR.....: 2020 LABEL....: Sub Pop CAT.NO...: SP1365 GENRE....: Electronic TIME.....: 42:04 SIZE.....: 76.81 MB QUALITY..: 255kbps/48.0kHz/Joint Stereo ENCODER..: LAME SOURCE...: Vinyl RLS.DATE.: 2020/08/13 WEBSITE..: https://www.discogs.com/release/15730599 TRACKLIST A1) (04:10) Too Late A2) (04:07) Face Up A3) (04:14) Time to Walk Away A4) (03:19) Paralyzed A5) (04:22) Reckless Desires B1) (04:09) Game of Chance B2) (03:50) Leave You Behind B3) (05:19) Don't Go B4) (03:26) Hide B5) (05:08) Haunt Washed Out is Atlanta-based producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Ernest Greene. Over the course of three uniquely enchanting, critically-lauded albums and an EP, the music he makes has proved both transportive and visual, each new effort inviting listeners into immersive, self-contained universes. With Purple Noon, his fourth album, and return to Sub Pop, he delivers the most accessible Washed Out creation to date. Life of Leisure, the first Washed Out EP, set the bar for the Chillwave era, shimmering in a warm haze of off-the-cuff Polaroids and pre-IG filters. Within and Without, his full-length debut on Sub Pop, found Washed OutÆs sound morphing into nocturnal, icy synth-pop and embraced provocative imagery. Paracosm is GreeneÆs take on psychedelia, with a full live band and kaleidoscopic light show, and saw him playing to the largest audiences of his career. The sample-heavy Mister Mellow delivered a 360 audio/visual experience, with cut-n-paste and hand-drawn animation to match the hip hop influences throughout the album. With each release, Greene has approached his evolving project with meticulous detail and a steadfast vision. For Purple Noon, Greene again wrote, recorded, and produced the entirety of the album, with mixing handled by frequent collaborator Ben H. Allen (Paracosm, Within and Without). Production of the album followed a brief stint of writing for other artists (most notably with Sudan Archives on her debut Athena) which enabled Greene to explore genres like R&B and modern pop for the first time. These brighter, more robust sounds made their way into the songs of Purple Noon and mark a new chapter in GreeneÆs growth both as a producer and songwriter. The vocals are front and center, tempos are slower, beats bolder, and overall, a more comprehensive depth of dynamics that has yet to be heard on a Washed Out record. One can hear the luxuriousness of Sade, the sonic bombast of Phil Collins, and the lush atmosphere of the great Balearic beat classics. The coastlines of the Mediterranean inspire Purple Noon, and Greene pays tribute to the regionÆs distinct island culture û with all of its rugged elegance and old-world charm û and uses it as a backdrop to tell the albumÆs stories of passion, love, and loss (Purple NoonÆs title comes from the 1960 film directed by Rene Clement, which is based on the novel ôThe Talented Mister Ripleyö by Patricia Highsmith). Much like the romantic Hollywood epics, the melodrama throughout is strong û a serendipitous first meeting in ôToo Lateö; the passionate love affair in ôParalyzedö; the disintegration of a relationship in ôTime to Walk Awayö; the reunion with a lost love in ôGame of Chance.ö Each Washed Out release has been rooted in a form of escapism, but coupled with this new layer of emotional intensity, Purple Noon takes Washed OutÆs music to dazzling new heights. -