# Washed Out

Ernest Weatherly Greene Jr. (born October 3, 1982), known professionally as Washed Out, is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Commonly associated with the chillwave genre in the 2010s, Pitchfork dubbed him "the godfather of chillwave".

## Life and career

Ernest Weatherly Greene Jr. was born on October 3, 1982, in Perry, Georgia, and currently lives in Atlanta. After earning an undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia, he obtained a Master of Library and Information Science degree but was unable to find a job as a librarian. Greene moved back in with his parents and started producing songs in his bedroom studio, as well as working on recordings of dance music with Bedroom, a local band. During 2008 he recorded lo-fi rock music under the name Lee Weather, but the following summer he found more success with his new project, Washed Out. He was soon discovered by a number of influential music bloggers after they found his music on his Myspace page. His first recordings have been described as "drowsy, distorted, dance pop-influenced tracks that brought to mind Neon Indian and Memory Tapes".
Greene's first two extended plays were released in August and September 2009. He held his debut New York City performance (his second live show ever) at Santos Party House. He has since performed at the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival and his song "Feel It All Around" is used as the opening theme for the television series Portlandia.
In April 2011 it was announced that he had been signed to Sub Pop. His debut, Within and Without, then released on July 12, 2011. The album peaked at #26 on the Billboard 200 and #89 on the UK Albums Chart. He was chosen by Battles to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival that they co-curated in December 2011 in Minehead, England.
Washed Out's second album, Paracosm, was released on August 13, 2013. The first single was "It All Feels Right", followed by "Don't Give Up". The same year, "New Theory" from Life of Leisure featured in-background on a scene from The Spectacular Now. In May 2014, he was reporting to be working on a third studio album, but he stated, "I'm figuring out the next step."
On May 19, Washed Out announced dates for his "Get Lost" tour, taking place in July 2017. Subsequently, he released his third studio album, Mister Mellow, on June 30, 2017. The album was produced at Stones Throw Records with the help of Cole M.G.N.
In April 2018, Washed Out released a new single, "Face Up" as part of Adult Swim's Singles Series. The single was later included on his fourth album, Purple Noon (2020). In April 2020, Washed Out released a new single, "Too Late". On June 30, 2020, Washed Out announced that a new album called Purple Noon would be released on August 7, 2020. He also released a new single, "Time to Walk Away".
During the Solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, Washed Out performed his music video for the song "Waking Up" in one take at Bandera, Texas. The performance was posted to his YouTube channel two months after the eclipse.
In May 2024, Washed Out announced his fifth studio album, Notes from a Quiet Life, and released its first single, "The Hardest Part", the video of which was made with OpenAI's Sora.

## Musical style

Washed Out's style has been identified with the chillwave movement. He has said hip hop influences the way he writes songs.

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | US | US Dance | US Indie | US Rock | AUS Hit | NOR | NL | NZ Heat | UK | UK Indie |
| Within and Without | Released: July 12, 2011 Label: Sub Pop Formats: CD, LP, digital download | 26 | — | 5 | 6 | 20 | 36 | 80 | — | 89 | 12 |
| Paracosm | Released: August 13, 2013 Label: Sub Pop Formats: CD, LP, digital download | 21 | — | 3 | 5 | 7 | — | — | — | 101 | 21 |
| Mister Mellow | Released: June 30, 2017 Label: Stones Throw Formats: CD/DVD, LP, digital download | — | 8 | — | — | 15 | — | — | 9 | — | — |
| Purple Noon | Released: August 7, 2020 Label: Sub Pop Formats: CD, LP, cassette, digital download | — | — | 35 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Notes from a Quiet Life | Released: June 28, 2024 Label: Sub Pop Formats: CD, LP, digital download | — | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||||||||

### Extended plays

| Title | Details |
| High Times | Released: September 9, 2009 Label: Mirror Universe Tapes Format: Cassette (200 copies) |
| Life of Leisure | Released: September 16, 2009 Label: Mexican Summer Format: CD, LP, digital download |
| Untitled | Released: 2010 Label: N/A Format: CD (offered to fans on tour) |

### Singles

| Title | Year | Peak positions | Peak positions | Peak positions | Peak positions | Certifications | Album |
| Title | Year | US Sales | US Dance | US Rock DL | MEX Air. | Certifications | Album |
| "Feel It All Around" | 2009 | — | — | — | 13 | RIAA: Gold | Life of Leisure EP |
| "You'll See It (Small Black Remix)" | 2010 | 43 | — | — | — | | Washed Out/Small Black split |
| "Eyes Be Closed" | 2011 | — | 10 | — | 50 | | Within and Without |
| "Amor Fati" | 2011 | — | — | 46 | — | | Within and Without |
| "It All Feels Right" | 2013 | — | — | — | 49 | | Paracosm |
| "Don't Give Up" | 2013 | — | — | — | — | | Paracosm |
| "Get Lost" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | | Mister Mellow |
| "Hard to Say Goodbye" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | | Mister Mellow |
| "Face Up" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | | Purple Noon |
| "Too Late" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | | Purple Noon |
| "Time to Walk Away" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | | Purple Noon |
| "Sidney's Lullaby" / "Miles' Lullaby" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory. ||||||||

#### Notes

* ↑ "Mister Mellow" did not enter the Billboard 200 chart, but peaked at number 91 on the Top Current Album Sales chart.
* ↑ "Mister Mellow" did not enter the Rock & Alternative Albums chart, but peaked at number 22 on the Alternative Album Sales chart.
* ↑ Mister Mellow did not enter the UK Albums Chart, but peaked at number 36 on the UK Record Store Chart.
* ↑ "Purple Noon" did not enter the Billboard 200 chart, but peaked at number 18 on the Top Current Album Sales chart.
* ↑ Purple Noon did not enter the UK Albums Chart, but peaked at number 20 on the UK Record Store Chart.
* ↑ Purple Noon did not enter the UK Independent Albums Chart, but peaked at number 22 on the UK Independent Album Breakers Chart.
* ↑ "Notes from a Quiet Life" did not enter the Billboard 200 chart, but peaked at number 41 on the Top Current Album Sales chart.

### Guest appearances

| Title | Year | Album |
| "You & I" | 2010 | Adult Swim Singles Program 2010 |
| "Belong" | 2010 | Kitsuné Maison Compilation 9 |
| "Straight Back" | 2012 | Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac |
| "Outta My System - Washed Out Remix" | 2012 | Outta My System: Remixez Y Friendz |
| "Want" | 2015 | Samantha |
| "Forgive" | 2018 | Young Romance |