The release of Within and Without is significant in that it is one of only a handful of albums of the chillwave genre to be released on a major indie label (Sub Pop) and not sold via artist-to-fan websites such as Bandcamp or as a limited pressing. Within and Without sees Ernest Greene (creator of Washed Out) emerging from his bedroom, leaving behind the DIY ethos of EPs Life of Leisure and High Times, both released in 2009, and moving to a more orchestral and cinematic scale of sound whilst still retaining the synths and simple lyrical repetitions which are characteristic of chillwave. The result is a cohesive album which soars richly from moments of extreme simplicity like the title track, which features only a vocal line and a beat, to moments of thickly layered instrumentation such as on the album’s opener ‘Eyes Be Closed’, which builds up a soundscape based upon its overlaid synth lines.
The potential problem with the chillwave genre is that it can often drift by the listener without making a lasting impact. It is very easy for the gently lilting music and reverberating lyrics to fall into the pit that is background music. Happily, however, Within and Without mostly avoids this fate by virtue of its melodic strength and non-indulgent song length (only a couple straying over the five minute mark), revealing instead its pop foundations that sustain the listener’s interest throughout. The best moments occur on songs such as ‘Amor Fati’ and ‘You and I’, where Greene’s lyrics break through the haze of synths and assert themselves and their melody at the forefront of the track. Moments like these are fleeting in the album and, whilst Within and Without is a step forward for Greene, it is more of a stepping-stone than a final destination.
