Come along and hop on the trendy chill-wave wagon with me. All the hip kids are getting down to the smooth introspective sounds of this laptop driven genre. Also commonly referred to as glo-fi, this style of music typically employs heavy use of drum loops, synthesizers, samples, and vocals put through dense sound effects. There is some debate as to whether this swank, retro-leaning, ambient, 80's synth pop influenced music rightfully deserves a specific title to group together seemingly disparate groups. In the modern age of such a vast, voluminous inundation of musical acts this is an all too common issue with new "genres" being birthed seemingly everyday. But anyway, Washed Out is an artist most certainly grouped in with the chill-wave genre, and I have been enjoying his latest offering Paracosm very much. Thus, I am featuring this record for album of the month.
As mentioned above, all the elements regularly found in chill-wave music are undeniable ingredients in Washed Out's aural recipe. This album is extremely vibe heavy, even upon the brief into track "Entrance" the waves of chill will begin to encompass you immediately. It is a perfect album to pop on during a drive, or a jog, or a stroll around the neighborhood; really any activity that would be accompanied well with a relaxing mood. It provides a wonderful soundtrack to any scenery, especially one in motion. The concise record contains what seems to me the perfect amount of music that both relaxes and encourages dancing simultaneously. I find it simply impossible not to bob my head along at the very least. The songs all provide feels that perfectly resemble their titles like "It All Feels Right", "Weightless", and "Great Escape". Washed Out has definitely achieved something quite impressive with this record by truly creating his own paracosm of aural design.
Hope you check it out and enjoy riding some waves through the land of chill.
Washed Out - Paracosm on iTunes
Washed Out - Paracosm on Spotify
Til next time,
Ty
