Description
Label Review.
2020 album. Electronic. Also available on CD.
Our Overview.
‘Purple Noon’, is Ernest Greene’s fourth album as Washed Out and presents his most accessible creation to date. Greene again wrote, recorded and produced the entirety of the album, with mixing handled by frequent collaborator Ben H. Allen. Production of the album followed a brief stint of writing for other artists (most notably Sudan Archives), which enabled Greene to explore genres like R&B and modern pop. These brighter, more robust sounds made their way into the songs of ‘Purple Noon’ and mark a new chapter for Greene as a producer and songwriter. The vocals are front and centre, tempos are slower, beats bolder, and there’s a more comprehensive depth of dynamics. One can hear the luxuriousness of Sade, the sonic bombast of Phil Collins and the lush atmosphere of the great Balearic beat classics.
Mediterranean coastlines inspired ‘Purple Noon’ and Greene pays tribute to the region’s distinct island culture - all rugged elegance and old-world charm - and uses it as a backdrop to tell stories of passion, love and loss (‘Purple Noon’s title comes from the 1960 film directed by Rene Clement and based on the novel ‘The Talented Mister Ripley’ by Patricia Highsmith). Much like romantic Hollywood epics, the melodrama throughout is strong: a serendipitous first meeting in “Too Late”; a passionate love affair in “Paralyzed”; disintegration of a relationship in “Time to Walk Away”; a reunion with a lost love in “Game of Chance”. ‘Purple Noon’ adds a layer of emotional intensity to the escapism of Washed Out’s oeuvre, taking the music to dazzling new heights.
Tracklisting: Too Late / Face Up / Time to Walk Away / Paralyzed / Reckless Desires / Game of Chance / Leave You Behind / Don’t Go / Hide / Haunt