Washed Out has a new album, Notes From A Quiet Life, out today via Sub Pop Records. It’s the fifth album from Ernest Greene, who goes by the stage name Washed Out. The new 10 song collection features the lead single “The Hardest Part.”

It’s his first album in four years and first for the Georgia native since moving in 2021 to a former horse farm in Macon, GA that he calls “Endymion.” He named it after the pastoral John Keats poem about a lovesick shepherd, the opening line is: “A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.” 

Inspired by the lifestyle change and simplicity of country living, Greene created an under 12 minute documentary that shares the story behind the making of his new album, Notes From A Quiet Life. Watch it HERE.

“I’ve read that every five, maybe 10 years, you’re practically a different person — like literally, on a cellular level,” Greene explains. “The things that you’re going through will end up changing you, and you’re kind of a different person. This album is a reflection of that. Experimenting with painting and sculpture helps my music. They influence each other. That was a kind of realization for me. I don’t want to look back on my life one day, and be like, ’Oh, it was all about maximizing productivity. I want to enjoy this.

It’s the first album he has self-produced and it was mixed with Nathan Boddy (James Blake, Mura Masa) and David Wrench (Caribou, Florence + The Machine). “Early in my career, I had a lack of technical skill, and there were some things I wasn’t 100% enthusiastic about,” he says, noting Jean-Michel Basquiat’s distinct, self-driven method as an inspiration. “Something that I was looking for was…I didn’t want any illusion of anyone else’s influences. I wanted to see this through to the end. And honestly, that was a big challenge.”

Greene says, “Each of his albums is a diary entry of his life.” Washed Out has released the following five albums: Within And Without (2011), Paracosm (2013), Mister Mellow (2017), Purple Moon (2020), and Notes From A Quiet Life (2024).

Washed Out has tour dates in August. Find the tour dates HERE.