Washed Out‘s Within Without landed at number 24 on this site’s Best of 2011 List thanks in part to Ernest  Greene’s cooed vocals backed by sleek, icy snyth lines played through gentle layers of reverb and delay pedals and backed with huge and booming drum beats. Sonically, the tracks on that album struck me as being reminiscent of 80s snyth-based pop acts such as Howard Jones, Thomas Dolby, the Pet Shop Boys and Tears for Fears – but with a shimmering and elegant, simplicity while being the sort of dreamy, low-keyed ambient pop that would probably steal your heart away…

Sub Pop Records will be releasing Greene’s follow up and sophomore effort, Paracosm on August 13th, and the album reportedly is comprised of material that examines the phenomenon of people creating extremely detailed, imaginary worlds. In any case, when you hear the album’s second single, “Don’t Give Up,” you’ll notice a change in sonic direction. The material is warmer, more psychedelic and more tribal (if not more like hip hop), and bears a passing resemblance to Cut Copy’s Zonoscope but with more of an emphasis on live instrumentation. And yet, the dreamy interior monologue-like quality of the music remains. 

You can catch Washed Out live throughout August and September, as he’ll be touring to support the new effort, and it includes stops in Los Angeles, CA; the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, WA; Vancouver, BC; Chicago, IL; Minneapolis, MN; Detroit, MI; Toronto, ON; Terminal 5; and several other venues.