Washed Out - Mister Mellow

[joshuatxuk]

 

Stones Throw Link

 

 

Fun straightforward summer album it appears. Seems akin to his drafts he was posting up on instagram over the years. Uptempo plunderphonics vibe on this (Avalanches) and trash retro aesthetic (Tobacco, BMSR)

[jules]

Nice, will check it out. I loved his first one, but paracosm kinda lost me a little. I didnt give it too much of a chance to be fair though...

[joshuatxuk]

Oh man I loved Paracosm. I was pretty hyped for it though and I'm into stuff like exotica which he seemed to draw upon.

 

This is much different though, his High Times EP is probably closest reference point to this. It's very much a beat tape - like early Flying Lotus, lot more uptempo like his peer Toro Y Moi. Monster Rally and early Lone come to mind. Lot of samples, layers, very much on the border of being one mix. Reminds me of Koushik too a bit (fuck that was like 10+ years ago!)

 

It's basically a beat tape. I see why it's on Stones Throw and not Sub Pop. It's only 30 minutes long and maybe just 1/3 of it has lyrics, only a few full blown songs. 

[jules]

I will go back to Paracosm, as I am halfway through this and it is fucking fantastic!

[Joyrex]

I'm... not feeling this Washed Out release (yet) - the preview track and now the full album are (so far) a bit underwhelming for me.

 

For reference, I am a Life of Leisure fan, Paracosm has some nice tracks, and his middle release was forgettable for the most part (to me).

[jules]

It flows nicely, but at 29 minutes, it is hardly a full album. Already starting it again though.

[Joyrex]

It flows nicely, but at 29 minutes, it is hardly a full album. Already starting it again though.

Yeah, I'm getting this now - I had it on shuffle and it didn't make any sense. Going to re-listen and see if it grows on me.

[joshuatxuk]

I'm... not feeling this Washed Out release (yet) - the preview track and now the full album are (so far) a bit underwhelming for me.

 

I get that. This is def one of those "throw on in the background of a pool party" releases. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's quite good IMO for what it is but there's nowhere near the emotional or musical depth of some his older stuff. 

[zero]

This is good, but doesn't seem like a real album. As mentioned, this is more like a mix tape of beat sketches and vocal samples. The last track is the only one I got the older washed out vibes from.

 

Also, Paracosm is such a perfect summer album. I listen to that shit while lying on the beach, full sun blazing, drinking can after can of Mexican beer.

[Goiter Sanchez]

Paracosm has this one, pure lush cheese, love it:

 

 

As for the new material, will definitely give it a listen before I catch him on the new tour!

[spunktronics]

Not hear dof this dud ebefore (iknow!)

 

lover this album totally what ive been looking for for ages..

 

plunderphics hiphop vibez....lovely

[Kavinsky]

Not hear dof this dud ebefore (iknow!)

 

lover this album totally what ive been looking for for ages..

 

plunderphics hiphop vibez....lovely

how did you missed chillwave a few years back ?

[Kavinsky]

album is perfect for the summer, its actually house music with some dreamy vocals

[joshuatxuk]

Not hear dof this dud ebefore (iknow!)

 

lover this album totally what ive been looking for for ages..

 

plunderphics hiphop vibez....lovely

 

you should check out Leaving Records (a sublabel of Stones Throw which this was based off) as well as Toro Y Moi and Memory Tapes/Memory Cassette's early stuff

[jules]

I love this and I can't stop replaying it. Why is it so short!?

[cooliofranco]

i listened once and liked it better than paracosm. i loved life of leisure and within and without and liked that this sounded more like those. 

[spunktronics]

 

Not hear dof this dud ebefore (iknow!)

 

lover this album totally what ive been looking for for ages..

 

plunderphics hiphop vibez....lovely

how did you missed chillwave a few years back ?

 

#life

[spunktronics]

 

Not hear dof this dud ebefore (iknow!)

 

lover this album totally what ive been looking for for ages..

 

plunderphics hiphop vibez....lovely

 

you should check out Leaving Records (a sublabel of Stones Throw which this was based off) as well as Toro Y Moi and Memory Tapes/Memory Cassette's early stuff

 

Yea man well into all that stuff i just really love that sampling/live instrument/plunderphonics vibe like new avalanches but can never find anything that does it as good

[dumplings]

Floating By is perfect for waking up to the sun, good moods dudes.

[BoomTssPhace]

Wow he actually shook his music free of the Chillwave plague, too bad the same can't be said of his droning vocals lmao. I would not have seen this disco shit coming but i'm into it. Curious to see the response he gets. Hasn't he been pigeonholed as a one trick pony?

 

It's cool that he has kept a visual motif throughout the whole album (much like he has with past work), all the cut-out collages of like catalogs from the 70's. The music videos are great

 

 

Also fuck yeah he's touring it

[Lada Laika]

Chillwave is just disco at half speed anyway, not too much of a departure

[joshuatxuk]

Wow he actually shook his music free of the Chillwave plague, too bad the same can't be said of his droning vocals lmao. I would not have seen this disco shit coming but i'm into it. Curious to see the response he gets. Hasn't he been pigeonholed as a one trick pony?

 

Washed and Toro Y Moi did the most gradual shift away from chillwave imo. Memory Tapes really went away from it and Neon Indian went back to synthwave sound (personally I think he jumped on the chillwave bandwagon - his abandoning of the Vega and Ghosthuster projects just as 'chillwave' came out seems suspect. He's a good producer regardless though)

 

This latest album is the biggest departure for sure, seen a few fans freak out about it. I like his vocals personally but a key part of that is he mixes them kind of low. This release could of easily done without them but then again half of it is instrumental anyway.

 

Just as ladalaika said Disco isn't that much of a departure, kind of coming full circle. He's early sample sources include disco.

 

 

 

he mentioned the visuals in his reddit AMA 

[Joyrex]

Glad to see you mentioned Neon Indian - that Vega release pissed me off after the wonderful previous release of his. Trying too hard to be Michael Jackson, IMO.

[BoomTssPhace]

I mean duh chillwave has roots in disco, but i guess this feels more like upright, higher tempo, almost pop disco. For me, a principle of chillwave is the droning synths, reverb/compression combo, etc that gives it the lethargic, almost melancholy atmosphere, which Mister Mellow seems devoid of (especially in comparison with something like Life of Leisure)

[Lada Laika]

This is his third album since Life of Leisure, an eight year old EP. If he had stayed "pure" chillwave he would have faded into obscurity in 2011