Purple Noon is the fourth studio album by American singer Washed Out, released on August 7, 2020, by Sub Pop. It was produced by Washed Out and Ben H. Allen.

Purple Noon
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 7, 2020 (2020-08-07)
GenreChillwave[1]
Length42:20
LabelSub Pop
Producer
Washed Out chronology
Mister Mellow
(2017)
Purple Noon
(2020)
Notes from a Quiet Life
(2024)
Singles from Purple Noon
  1. "Face Up"
    Released: April 4, 2018
  2. "Too Late"
    Released: April 9, 2020
  3. "Time to Walk Away"
    Released: June 30, 2020
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic63/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Clash[4]
DIY[5]
Exclaim![6]
The Guardian[7]
The Line of Best Fit[8]
Paste[1]
Pitchfork5.8/10[9]
PopMatters7/10[10]
Under the Radar7/10[11]

"Face Up", the album's lead single, was released on April 4, 2018, originally as part of Adult Swim's Singles Series.[12] "Too Late" was released as the album's second single on April 9, 2020.[13] The title, artwork, track listing and release date of the album were announced along with the release of a third single, "Time to Walk Away", on June 30, 2020.[14]

Critical reception

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Purple Noon received generally positive reviews, with a normalized score of 63 out of 100 on review aggregation site Metacritic.[2] In a positive review of the album, Alex Hudson of Canadian entertainment publisher Exclaim! wrote that on Purple Noon, Washed Out "flirts with the chillwave sounds he's known for without too blatantly repeating himself."[6] Writing for Under the Radar magazine, Scott Elingburg felt that Washed Out "sounds more assured and more interested in stretching his abilities as a singer to accompany his electro pop soundscapes," but described some of the lyrical content as clichéd.[11] Zach Schonfeld of Paste magazine was critical of the album's direction, writing that "there’s nothing here that complicates or advances Greene’s sound, nothing that particularly stands out from the agreeably monotonous haze."[1]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Ernest Greene

No.TitleLength
1."Too Late"4:12
2."Face Up"4:08
3."Time to Walk Away"4:15
4."Paralyzed"3:21
5."Reckless Desires"4:24
6."Game of Chance"4:11
7."Leave You Behind"3:52
8."Don't Go"5:20
9."Hide"3:27
10."Haunt"5:10
Total length:42:20
Japanese edition bonus tracks[15]
No.TitleLength
11."Pigments" 
12."Rain Arp" 

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Purple Noon.[16]

  • Ernest Greene – vocals (all tracks); production (all tracks); recording (all tracks); art direction
  • Ben H. Allen – mixing; production
  • Harold "HB" Brown – drums ("Too Late", "Time to Walk Away", "Paralyzed", "Leave You Behind", "Don't Go")
  • Blair Greene – photography
  • Dylan Lee – acoustic guitar ("Game of Chance")
  • Lanning Sally – design

Charts

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Chart performance for Purple Noon
Chart (2020) Peak
position
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[17] 35
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[18] 16
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[19] 33

Release history

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Release history for Purple Noon
Region Date Label Ref.
Various August 7, 2020 Sub Pop [14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Schonfeld, Zach (August 12, 2020). "Washed Out Tries to Keep the Chillwave Revolution Alive on Purple Noon". Paste. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Reviews for Purple Noon by Washed Out". Metacritic. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  3. ^ Sendra, Tim. "Purple Noon – Washed Out". AllMusic. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  4. ^ Roseblade, Nick (August 6, 2020). "Washed Out - Purple Noon". AllMusic. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  5. ^ Harris, Nick (August 7, 2020). "Washed Out - Purple Noon". DIY. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Hudson, Alex (August 7, 2020). "Washed Out Is Back in His Reverb-Heavy Niche on 'Purple Noon'". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  7. ^ Morris, Damien (August 9, 2020). "Washed Out: Purple Noon review". The Guardian. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  8. ^ Lilly, Evan (August 7, 2020). "Purple Noon finds Washed Out centring around more of the same with little else to say". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  9. ^ Kemp, Sophie (August 10, 2020). "Washed Out: Purple Noon". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  10. ^ "Washed Out's 'Purple Noon'". PopMatters. August 14, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Elingburg, Scott (August 7, 2020). "Washed Out: Purple Noon (Sub Pop) Review". Under the Radar. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  12. ^ Schatz, Lake (April 4, 2018). "Washed Out returns with new song "Face Up"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  13. ^ Helman, Peter (April 9, 2020). "Washed Out Shares Crowd-Sourced Video For New Song "Too Late"". Stereogum. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  14. ^ a b Baxter, Jason (June 30, 2020). "Washed Out to release Purple Noon August 7th, 2020 worldwide from Sub Pop". Sub Pop. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  15. ^ "Purple Noon (Bonus Track Version) by Washed Out". Big Nothing. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  16. ^ Purple Noon (liner notes). Washed Out. Sub Pop. 2020. SP1365.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ "Washed Out Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  18. ^ "Washed Out Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  19. ^ "Washed Out Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2021.