Washed Out

Ernest Greene played both one of the worst and one of the best (or, at least, better) gigs that Time Out saw last year. His first-ever Japan show with chillwave project Washed Out at Freaks Music Festival was a bit of a stinker, but the group sounded absolutely vital when they appeared at Fuji Rock Festival a few months later. If it helped that the crowd were by then familiar with the slicker sound introduced on Washed Out's debut album proper, Within and Without, Greene had also morphed into an energetic frontman, and his frequent exhortations to the audience made even the less compelling numbers seem surprisingly fab. If he and his bandmates can repeat the trick at their upcoming Liquidroom gig, it should be a cracker.