Washed Out: Mister Mellow review – familiar yet steeped in mystery

Once among chillwave’s leading lights, Ernest Greene, AKA Washed Out, has edged away from the sound in recent years, growing less sleepy with each release. His third LP, and his first for Stones Throw, combines psychedelia, punch-drunk disco, bizarre voiceovers and Shadow-style cut-ups, and comes with an accompanying visual DVD, though Mister Mellow doesn’t need gimmicks to succeed. These tunes, particularly the winsome Burn Out Blues, are spry and familiar yet steeped in mystery, as befits an album that steals from everywhere. And while Get Lost indicates he’s still fond of chillwave, Greene is a man with too many ideas to ever align himself with one scene again.