Goth Babe's off-the-grid, camper-dwelling lifestyle instills his fuzzy, alt-rock-inflected guitar songs and lo-fi synth pop tracks alike by way of lyrics about everyday reflections and the great outdoors. The indie singer/songwriter has stuck with short-form releases since his 2016 debut, the guitar-based "Wasted Time/Sunshine." He soon added shimmery electronic components like pulsing beats to his palette, as evidenced on EPs including 2017's Pacific and the next year's Pacific II. Goth Babe's easygoing songs continued to experiment with a lush, melodic mix of guitar and DAW-generated textures on 2021's Protect Our Winters and 2022's Santa Catalina.

Memphis native Griff Washburn wrote his first recorded material, "Wasted Time" and "Sunshine," as a student at Middle Tennessee State University, later tracking them at a studio in Nashville. He left school after a year to spend more time on his music in Nashville before relocating to Brooklyn. In the meantime, he self-released "Wasted Time/Sunshine" (aka Wasted Time EP) in early 2016 under the alias Goth Babe. Washburn continued to issue stand-alone tracks and short EPs, including that October's Shall We EP, over the next few years, though his efforts on the East Coast quickly stalled around the time he was offered work as a model. Following a photo shoot for Calvin Klein, he briefly pursued modeling before returning to his guitar. His music career was reinvigorated by a move to the West Coast.

Washburn gained a following in Los Angeles and eventually invested in a truck and camper that he built with solar power, a wood-burning stove, and a small studio. Having never been north of San Francisco, he decided to explore the Pacific Northwest while living out of his rig. Releases including Pacific and Pacific II followed in 2017 and 2018. The next year brought the Goth Babe EPs Mt. Hood and Smith Rock, as Washburn adopted a lifestyle of surfing, climbing, hiking with his dog, and writing music in between tours. He eventually purchased a plot of undeveloped land in Oregon to serve as a home base.

Continuing to tour and explore the U.S., Goth Babe issued the EPs North Coast and Mt. Bachelor in 2020, following them in 2021 with Protect Our Winters. The singles "Encinitas" and "Casita" closed out the year, and the three-song Santa Catalina appeared in 2022. Another single, the throbbing synth pop cut "Taking Over the Sun," arrived later that year. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi