Chillwave pioneer Washed Out (Georgia-based singer, songwriter, and record producer Ernest Greene) recently released "Get Lost", his first piece of new music since Paracosm (2013). The track was released on Stones Throw, instead of Washed Out’s previous label Sub Pop. The song is accompanied by a music video that features a collage of optimistic 1980s visual references, courtesy of director Harvey Benschoter.
Greene's characteristic yawning, indistinct vocals and inward-looking (and mostly indecipherable) lyricism remain, but his new song traffics with more kinetic energy and momentum than the lush, slow-moving psychedelia of his past work. Elements of hip hop and house music combine to create a late night party vibe, replete with retro sax playing, piano notes and bold vocal sampling.
The sonic influences on Washed Out's new track might depart slightly from his previous work in terms of moving another step away from the antisocial isolation of the bedroom pop genre, but Greene's predilections for internal fantasy, nostalgia and positivity remain a constant that should maintain the attention and interest of his stalwart listeners:
"I just turned 30 and, in some ways, I think my golden years are past me. You can call it nostalgia, but things were just more fresh when I was younger and more naive. It’s not even the actual moment of what happened, but the realization in that moment that it's beautiful. I know I’m probably coming across like a hippie by saying that, but that’s what the record’s about. Love it or hate it. I see a lot of beautiful things around me in the world and I consciously chose to write about it, because I’ve struggled with depression before. You can choose to fixate on that, or you can will yourself out of it. For me, music was always a very positive way to will myself out of that situation. In your imagination you can perfect things in a way you can’t do in your everyday life".
Ernest Greene, 2013, Pitchfork
