REVIEW: Active Child - You Are All I See

Active Child
You Are All I See
(Vagrant)
(out of 5)

Listening to You Are All I See makes me feel like I’m on the moon, and with track names like ‘High Priestess’, ‘Ancient Eye’ and ‘Sword&Shield’, it is not hard to put fantasy-laced images to the ethereal soundscapes Active Child’s Pat Grossi has created through his debut release.

Stylistically sitting somewhere between the density and creativity of class acts such as Grizzly Bear and M83, Grossi confidently forges a sound of his own. Magically placing his humble harp within a highly-produced, are-we-actually-in-heaven pastiche of colour, the turning point occurs with his haunting falsetto reaching out from the glorious plane below. In many ways You Are All I See shares both sonic and thematic similarities with Shearwater’s under-rated 2010 classic The Golden Archipelago...but to make such comparisons could be seen as an insult.

This record quite-considerably holds its own. 

Paradoxically, there is everything, and not much more to say here; as cliché as it sounds, words can’t really do this record justice – so on that note, I’m going to stop typing and just go back to listening and dreaming. I suggest you grab this record yourself and do exactly the same. Prepare to be genuinely blown away.

Active Child - High Priestess

By Theo Sangster.