It's hard to easily define what Washed Out's third album, Paracosm, is. On one hand, there are moments on the record which very closely resemble the spacey, campy, dopey folk that the Flaming Lips have been known to indulge in, but it's noticeably more faceless and boring. On the other hand, the album has moments of hypnotic and spacey easy listening which sound as though they could have been pulled right out of the 1970s and must be timeless because they can still touch the lobe in the minds of listeners which will make them smile. It is because both of those angles factor prevalently into the play of Paracosm that it is impossible to call the album a great, runaway success or tediously poor – in fact, it's a bit of both.
Because of that, it could easily be argued that Paracosm truly lives up to its name [a paracosm is a fantasy world imagined by children which has very clearly defined geography, language and history -ed].
From the beginning of “Entrance,” Washed Out straddles the precariously fine line which separates “good” from “godawful” and lets listeners decide for themselves which side of that line their opinion should remain on. Songs like “It All Feels Right,” “Don't Give Up” and “All I Know” all play out like they like they would not, could not exist without the assistance of a computer and a producer to program it as their thick and perfectly synthetic sounds play through. Some will fall easily for the perfectly non-threatening nature of those songs, but others will reject them for the straight-faced and smooth siren songs on Paracosm; while there is a sonic similarity between Washed Out and Flaming Lips, the bands are permanently separated by different themes – while Flaming Lips use their thick, synthetic sound as a backdrop against which they seek to present distopia, Washed Out seems more intent on getting listeners to join them in tuning in, turning on and zoning out with them, Because of that, Washed Out ends up alienating at least a few listeners (mostly those who beg bands like Flaming Lips to show the dark undertones in their music clearly and focus on them) but, by the same token, they also stand to make a lot for the fact that Paracosm is supposed to be nothing other than pretty; digging in reveals that there is no other agenda in this album.
As the album finally runs out with the perfectly entitled “All Over Now,” those who have gone front to back with the album will find they have no trouble saying that they enjoyed Paracosm but, curiously, they won't be able to say why, if pressed. A lot of that has to do with the duality of the songs; on one hand, they feel very warm and inviting (due, in part, to the preponderance of synths modeled to sound like a string section), but listeners will discover that they're perfectly vacant and vapid after they enter. Some critics will say that is an unforgivable disappointment, but how a listener feels about it depends entirely on how much emotional stock they really want to put into this album. If they want to just relax and get lost in a warm and plush experience, they won't be disappointed by Paracosm, but they'll be sorely disappointed if they're looking for grand statements.
Artist:
www.washedout.net/
www.facebook.com/washed.out
www.twitter.com/ernestgreene
Album:
Paracosm is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
