By Jack Betz

Show-goers in Houston have been chattering about the upcoming Beach House show for months now and rightly so. The band has a great sound that’s experimental and dreamy while remaining pretty accessible. However, not so many people know about the opening act, Washed Out.  Washed Out is the stage name for North Carolina musician, Ernest Greene, who started out writing songs in his own bedroom. In the past year he’s a  experienced a meteoric rise attracting the attention of big name music zines like Pitchfork. They gave his commercial debut, Life of Leisure - EP, a rating of eight which is pretty respectable considering Pitchfork’s rhadamanthine rating tendencies. Not only that, but Greene’s song “Feel It All Around”, made it onto Pitchfork’s list of top hundred tracks of 2024.

Life of Leisure - EP contains slow, enveloping, synth textures and electronic drumbeats coupled with distant, swirling, vocals. Some songs sound jovial while other songs are sad. The album walks the line between synth pop and experimentation and the results are very satisfying. Just like most of you probably are, I’m guilty of bit torrenting most of the music I listen to but if you have iTunes, download this one legally. It’s only five bucks and if you like any of the songs I’ve mentioned you’ll definitely get your moneys worth. I want to hear more from this guy. Let’s give him some incentive. I don’t have any idea what his set will be like at Walter’s but I’ve got some high hopes. If he ends up sucking then at least I’ve got Beach House to look forward to.