Pat Grossi - Active Child to you - surely is Justin Vernon's brother, right? At least spiritually. The warped R'n'B soul that permeates Active Child's debut LP You Are All I See is a synthetic, samples heavy sister to any of Vernon's works under his Bon Iver moniker, or even his Gayngs supergroup. The vocal delivery is mirrored; that haunting, quasi operatic falsetto that flows over the strings of your heart is omnipresent throughout, with it be on the choral beauty of the opening title track, the RnB meets chillwave majesty of 'Hanging On' and 'Playing House' (that also features compatriot How To Dress Well). Like another chillwave exponent, Washed Out's Ernest Greene, Grossi has an incredible, INCREDIBLE voice, and refuses to hide behind cold production - the arrangements are splendid, but the voice is front and centre, and all the better for it. I Wasn't sure whether I would get into this all the way through to the closer, but (also like Washed Out's debut from earlier in the year, Within And Without) You Are All I See doesn't just hold the interest, but is imminently playable. A more sonorous, lush and beautiful album you aren't likely to find this year.
You Are All I See is out through Vagrant Records - grab it here.
Active Child - Hanging On
Active Child - See Thru Eyes
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