Album Review: Washed Out - Mister Mellow

After two years of careful construction, Mister Mellow ends the period of silence for bedroom producer / chillwave survivor Ernest Greene, who drifted off the radar after some useful leg ups from blogs, other bands and TV exposure. Mister Mellow is a visual album and each track has its own video. What's more, there are no gaps between tracks, so both music and animation blend into one seamless experience.

Lacking the budget of Beyonce's Lemonade, a swarm of squiggly sketches and Monty Python style cut outs glide around a faded cityscape or disappear into a black hole singularity. Although pairing the aesthetic components of each song's part with the right image may have been challenging, overall the project feels consistent. If any particular qualm lingers, it's that some of the best visual moments come and go in a flash, somewhat like life. Musically, Greene shows subtle signs of progression. Burn Out Blues and Million Miles Away are well written, while Hard To Say Goodbye adds some colour to the album's mid-section with a light, jazzy bass riff. Overall, Mister Mellow is a bit like staying up to watch Rage, albeit without the variety.