Active Child Puts Every Ounce Of Himself Into 'Mercy'

'Mercy' is LA based Active Child’s (otherwise known as Pat Grossi) first full-length release in four years. After the huge success of his 'Rapor' EP in 2013, which featured the likes of Ellie Goulding and Mikky Ekko, he was destined to come back with some big, beautiful work.

Available on 16^th June 2015 through Vagrant Records, it has a lot to live up to. Not only is his previous work critically acclaimed, he has toured around the world- and hopefully will once again with 'Mercy'.

The LP is undeniably more ethereal than his other work, with the majority of the tracks being made up of just a piano and a harp, seemingly evoking a sense of warmth and weightlessness.

The first track “1999” picks you up and slowly puts you down into a warm, soapy bubble bath. It is instantly noticeable that the pre-production used on Grossi’s voice in previous work is gone. His voice is raw and emotional, without the reverb and doubling once used. The harp and piano’s simplicity and beauty juxtapose with the somber musings of a past love.

Tracks such as “Never Far Away” and “Stranger” are the more upbeat tracks, offering a slow yet obvious drumbeat underneath the smooth dancing of the melodies. “Stranger” offers some of the best examples of Grossi’s vocal ability on the LP, and the whole track oozes passion and emotion; while making you groove along- easily making it one of the standout tracks of 'Mercy'.

The tracks effortlessly glide into one another with the assistance of Grossi’s honest, incredible vocals, and the smooth-like-chocolate innocent plucking of harps and plonking of pianos. Each song on Mercy seems to revolve around love, and Grossi addressed this, saying that ‘the real motivation is emotional clarity, without music as an outlet I’m not sure how I would cope’. The track “Too Late” is graced with naked, almost ghostly vocals and a single piano, bringing Mercy to a peaceful, perfect end.

'Mercy' is an emotional, chilling LP, which will undoubtedly receive the praise it deserves, as Grossi has put every ounce of himself into this piece of work. Definitely an artist to keep an eye on, and catch on his vast US and Canadian tour over this June and July.

To find out more about Active Child click here.

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Words by Hollie-Anne Copas

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