Goth Babe Brings the Beat on Lola

To understand Goth Babe—and his debut album for Mom + Pop titled Lola—you have to look back to nearly nine years ago. Teen skateboarding enthusiast Griff Washburn and his buddies took direct inspiration from beachy psych-surf titans like Surf Curse and Ty Segall and, as newly minted punks, their band released their Fuzz Ghost EP on the now-defunct Richmond tape label Ongakubaka Records.

Before long, however, Chattanooga-born Washburn grew weary of college doldrums in Nashville and began pursuing a more nomadic lifestyle, testing the waters in cities like New York and Los Angeles before embracing camper life. Eventually, he built himself—and his dog, Sadie—a tiny house in the country outside Portland, which burned down amidst his recovery from chronic migraine. Undeterred, Washburn took his nomadism to the next level, learning to sail and embarking on a 1,200-mile journey down the Pacific to Mexico, Sadie by his side all the way, with the help of buddies making supply drops throughout. He named that sailboat Lola and, in turn, the album is a collection of tracks dreamed up on that voyage.

As Washburn’s living quarters have changed, so has Goth Babe’s output across a slew of EPs and loosies, with electronics playing a bigger role as his workspace grew smaller. After striking out on his own, the fuzzy, sun-dried punk of his youth gave way to psychedelic pop—like on 2017 standouts “Early Mornings,” “Topanga” and “Sometimes.” These songs sound more like chillwave filtered through a bedroom pop prism, released alongside the meteoric rises of Clairo and Glass Animals, whose takes on psychedelia and pop led them to different varieties of popularity. The feel-good, festival-ready “Weekend Friend” propelled Goth Babe to new heights in 2019 and, since then, the project has been best known for pop living between the dizziness of Gold Panda and the luster of Miike Snow. On Lola, Washburn does not limit the Goth Babe style to exactly one sound, but this danceable, feel-good psych pop remains his bread and butter. At times, the music shines like gentle sunrays, and at others, it feels flat and disorienting, offering little more substance than a good vibe.

Album opener “Neon Trees” offers a gooey sonic preview, gradually mounting layers of programmed percussion, guitar and electronics while Washburn’s voice echoes up top. “Spinnaker Days” comes next, with punctuated electronic percussion, low-lying guitars, beat drops and handclaps galore; all of that to say it’s unfocused. Bubbling guitars lead the way on “Sadie,” a song so sentimental that it revels in lovely “ahhhs” and images of run-arounds. On “Backwards,” Washburn invites singer/songwriter buddy WATTS to contribute to a bass-and-beat-laden piano ballad on impending heartbreak, swinging between anticipated regret and catharsis. However, as honest and clean as it is, the production and the lyrics are at odds; it feels as if the production came about to maximize its might during performance instead of optimizing the emotional impact of its lyrics. Vibey? Yes. Confounding? Also yes.

With its changing textures and clear delineation between chorus and verses, “Sun Comes Up” is one of Lola’s high points: The track is busy, yes, but every component has a clear purpose. After such a climax, an intricate guitar passage like “Orcas” is a commendable insertion. “Bioluminescence” is one of the album’s more ambitious tracks, living somewhere between the modern Goth Babe experience and the grandiosity of classic M83, that of which celebrates his adventurous path and his constant pursuit of a better world.

The Goth Babe project is not just a musical endeavor, it’s an aspirational lifestyle: one dedicated to good vibes, big adventures, and environmental consciousness. Goth Babe’s Instagram bio features multiple nonprofits with whom he partners: Protect Our Winters, a winter recreation-oriented climate nonprofit; Conservation Lands Foundation, which focuses on public lands stewardship; and Project Zero, an ocean conservation charity. To live like Goth Babe, it’s about more than skateboarding, singing, climbing or sailing. Advocacy is a part of the brand.

Goth Babe is a curious musical project in its own right, but the music, the short films, the posts and the partnerships all reinforce an aspirational narrative that elevates what makes him appealing, much like a lifestyle influencer. As he describes on “Alone in the Mountains:” “I find myself alone in the mountains / Grateful for my life today / It’s just me and my dog most of the time / I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Goth Babe stands out from other musicians as someone who struck out on his own—ostensibly outside of a rooted DIY musical community—and made a name for himself by living intentionally and producing honestly.

As intentional as Washburn celebrates the people in his orbit who help make Goth Babe a reality, everyone plays a role in upholding the narrative of the brilliant soloist with perpetual wanderlust. To argue whether this narrative is fact or fiction is pointless, but to recognize what this narrative reinforces, namely the singularity of the young male genius and enlightenment by disassociating with mainstream society, helps to clarify his appeal as well as his music’s. Washburn repeatedly emphasizes—through his consistent social media output and the occasional short film appearance—that his lifestyle requires incredible dedication and exposure to risk. It all comes from a good place, but the feedback loop between his musical output and his influencer-like social presence is notable, and it is vital to recognize that Lola is a part of that.

Lola closes with “Baja,” much like the actual voyage that inspired the album as Washburn and Sadie rounded the Baja California peninsula to visit coastal Mexico. It’s bright, abstract and, above all else, a strong vibe—particularly when he declares “All I wanna do is love.” Lola is an earnest and charming artifact, an epic chapter in the myth of Griff Washburn. Songs like “Bioluminescence” and “Sun Comes Up” are two of the strongest entries in the whole Goth Babe discography and serve as the album’s peaks, places where Washburn’s influences and ambitions are made manifest and where he tests himself sonically and lyrically.

However, tracks like “Alone in the Mountains,” “Backwards” and “Crocodile” feel more like festival fodder, written and produced for maximum oomph onstage at Bonnaroo or at a major university’s opening weekend than in recorded format. How songs like “Alone in the Woods” both affirm and complicate the Goth Babe narrative and the lifestyle branding he displays can make the song feel more hokey than likely intended. Overall, Lola—and the Goth Babe project at large—relies on its earnestness: Washburn has his life on display in Instagram Reels and plainspoken electro-psych pop. It’s interesting to look at, but a mixed bag when listening.

Devon Chodzin is a critic and urban planner with bylines at Aquarium Drunkard, Bandcamp Daily, Slumber Mag and more. He is currently a student in Philadelphia. He lives on Twitter @bigugly.