Purple Noon

Purple Noon isn't the mindless bliss of programmed Spotify algorithm music but the comfort of hanging out with an old friend.

Musically it turns out to be blissful business as usual for Ernest Greene on his fourth album under the Washed Out moniker. The bittersweet sentiments remain but they are beautifully expressed and wrapped up in classy production, with a notable tension that hangs on every song.

He has this impeccable talent when it comes to picking the right sounds to liquidize his voice, even if that tends to muddy what he’s actually singing. It’s a shame that this time around Greene wants to distance himself from his two best records and early EPs, but Purple Noon is nonetheless an improvement over Mister Mellow because it brings most of what we enjoyed about his early work back – even if it’s not as heavily emphasized.

‘Purple Noon’ shows Greene finding some musical maturity. While the album might not be as strong as his previous releases, we’re starting to see the real Greene which far more rewarding.

The album proves to be a glacial melt of shimmering beauty, asking for attention and rewarding it with a kind of zen.

Given that the chillwave craze only lasted a year or two, this is another solid outing from an artist who has turned a flash-in-the-pan trend into a deep discography.

Purple Noon is filled with Greene’s confident, fuller sound. It’s one big step up for Washed Out

Several songs see Greene stranded near crisis, not quite broken up nor ready to make a romantic move, and the music is similarly timorous. You’re left willing him to change gears, to abandon these elegant sighs for something more full-throated.

After releasing a couple albums that showed the Washed Out sound could be altered in interesting ways, coming back with something that's textbook chillwave can't help but be a letdown, no matter how pretty and soothing it can be.

Strong mastery of mood and era, but the overcast ennui palls before the album's close. [Aug 2020, p.94]

While Purple Noon is likely Greene’s most lackluster output, it’s not a total bust. He does manage to squeeze in a few noteworthy moments that briefly highlight his songwriting.

Over a decade into his career, Greene is more than capable of producing technically interesting music that comes across as deceptively simple. Unfortunately, Purple Noon falters and feels too safe and lacking in substance.

The chillwave movement has always channeled nostalgia—warm echoes of a distant past, faded and warped into a new aesthetic. Purple Noon, though, mostly just elicits nostalgia for the glory days of chillwave itself.

Even if the album's sonic template doesn't stray too far from his 2011 breakthrough debut LP Within You Without You, Greene chooses to keep the mood so light that it's practically inert.