PHOTOS: AMANDA DEERING | Experiencing Washed Out in the flesh is like tripping on some really righteous stuff. Like drifting out into an alter-world of pretty colors and sparkly things and deliciousness. Or at least what we’d imagine that to be like, of course.
When Ernest Greene released his first recordings as Washed Out in 2009, he had by that time been involved in numerous music projects. But as Washed Out, he became famous for his obscure style of ambient pop, a new wave in shoe gaze marked by retro-inspired synths, airy beats and lush, reverberating vocals. Five years and a large following of Portlandia fans later, the band’s music is just as luscious and dreamy as ever, but much brighter in tone than before. And this Monday, it cast its magic spell on Dallas, at a nearly sold out show at the city’s historic Granada Theater.
Well, the cloud of herbal fumes gathering above Granada’s colorful crowd could have been a factor, but Washed Out’s performance that night was no doubt dope as hell.
Playing before a decently, ahem, “spirited” crowd, Greene et al led the audience to even higher heights with a hypnotic, ethereal performance. Opening with “It Feels Alright,” the intro track on the band’s 2013 daydream-like album, Paracosm, the group progressed through a set of songs spanning their entire discography. The set list included fan favorites “Amor Fati,” “All I Know,” and of course, “Feel it All Around,” the cult chillwave prototype also typically known as “the Portlandia song.”
While the set was filled with some mellow, really beautiful moments, grooves exuded much more energy live than expected, at times giving off somewhat of a tropical vibe, even. And combined with the show’s trippy lighting effects, tracks that on record sound more somber felt almost buoyant. Like a sea of dazzling sound and color you just couldn’t help but float in.
Though many electronic artists tend to sound overtly technical, Washed Out’s performance felt richer, more expansive, more romantic. Celestial, perhaps. Much like the idea of escaping is essentially the heartbeat of Paracosm, their live show exceeds conventions and soars to otherworldly places.
Washed Out is currently on tour throughout the U.S. For a list of tour dates, visit the band’s website.
