| Within and Without | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Washed Out | ||||
| Released | 12 July 2011[1] | |||
| Genre | Synthpop, chillwave, dream pop | |||
| Length | 40:43 | |||
| Label | Sub Pop, Weird World | |||
| Producer | Ben H. Allen, Ernest Greene | |||
| Washed Out chronology | ||||
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Within and Without is the 2011 debut album by the chillwave artist Washed Out. The album was released on July 12, 2011 and reached number 26 on the US Billboard 200 chart[2] and number 6 on the Billboard Rock albums chart.[3]
Contents |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Eyes Be Closed" | 4:47 |
| 2. | "Echoes" | 4:08 |
| 3. | "Amor Fati" | 4:26 |
| 4. | "Soft" | 5:31 |
| 5. | "Far Away" | 4:00 |
| 6. | "Before" | 4:46 |
| 7. | "You and I" | 5:13 |
| 8. | "Within and Without" | 3:32 |
| 9. | "A Dedication" | 4:17 |
|
Total length:
|
40:43 | |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [4] |
| BBC Music | (Mixed) [5] |
| Brotherspork | (83%) [6] |
| Drowned in Sound | [7] |
| The Guardian | [8] |
| MusicOMH | [9] |
Paul Lester of BBC Music gave the album a mixed review, stating: "The muffled vocals are still present and correct; as is, via the titles (Amor Fati, Far Away), the lexicon of longing. The tenor is one of budget luxuriance, the atmosphere one of sadness that life can’t always be summerdazeforever. Opener Eyes Be Closed features the usual soft, sibilant, susurrating synths and an almost reggae-ish lilt, only smothered in a blanket of warm electronica. It feels a bit rote, as does Echoes, Greene’s voice, as ever, just another part of the blend, the lyrics hard to discern amid the amniotic synths and bubbling beats. Amor Fati has the downcast air of a Duran Duran ballad and as such hardly represents an advance. Soft is probably the highlight, but not for any dramatic reasons: simply, the chord changes are most affecting on this one. The rhythm is repetitive but sounds played rather than sequenced, offering the idea that Within and Without is less synthetic, more ‘real’, an unnecessary development considering how moving those early Washed Out tunes were, while production-wise the new material is actually a less punchy version of Greene’s pristine melancholia, more waffly and wan."
"With the same torpid tempo throughout, Within and Without is an invitation to soporific surrender, and strikes a sombre, samey mood when Belong was quite strikingly seductive, a new form of synthed-up dream-pop. Etiolation and enervation were always key to chillwave/glo-fi's appeal, but this is just too pallid, too washed-out."[5]
The album currently holds a score of 70 out of a possible 100 according to aggregate website Metacritic indicating "generally favorable reviews".
| Chart (2011) | Peak Positions |
|---|---|
| Dutch Albums Chart[11] | 80 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart[12] | 36 |
| UK Albums Chart[13] | 89 |
| UK Indie Chart | 12 |
| US Billboard 200[14] | 26 |
| US Rock Albums[14] | 6 |
| US Alternative Albums[14] | 6 |
| US Tastemaker Albums[14] | 7 |
| US Independent Albums[14] | 5 |
| US Digital Albums[14] | 9 |