CD Reviews

Active Child | You Are All I See

Vagrant Records (2011)

By MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | August 16, 2011

3.0 Stars

Pat Grossi used to be a choirboy, which is not surprising at all, given that his full-length debut under the Active Child moniker sounds like it was cut in some sort of dimly lit, hallowed hall under the cover of night. The church-like sonics create haunting echoes and a tranquil ambience on You Are All I See, which has dozens of moments that are nothing short of breathtaking. Tracks "Ivy" and "See Thru Eyes" pour forth with a chilly and full sound, despite the general sparseness in instrumentation arrangements, which feature harps and synths. Dialing up Brooklyn R&B singer How to Dress Well for "Playing House" was a stroke of mad genius, his vocal styling a less-creepy R. Kelly that mingles well with Grossi's own. Take equal parts Black Celebration–era Depeche Mode and throw in Temper Trap's Dougy Mandagi trying to sound less anthemic and you've got a semblance of Grossi's voice and the vibe he's after. His words are layers of palpable atmospherics; subtle and pleading at times, worried and demanding at others, mainly steeped in a falsetto that rarely wears thin — note "rarely" — it occasionally causes the eardrums to glaze over.

ACTIVE CHILD + COM TRUISE + CHAD VALLEY | Brighton Music Hall, 158 Brighton Ave, Allston | September 12 @ 8 pm | $12 | 18+ | 617.779.0140

A Place to Bury Strangers | Onwards to the Wall
Onwards to the Wall clocks in at 16 minutes and 35 seconds, and it could shatter into smithereens at any moment.
Liars | WIXIW
The sixth full-length from Brooklyn band Liars is an album in the sense that it's been recorded, has a release date, and is worth a review. But with so much improperly used space and so few tangible ideas, the result doesn't feel like an actual album as much as it does a decent demo.
Sleep | Dopesmoker [re-issue]
In the early-'90s metal drought, a strange strain developed through the cracks in the pavement, as downtuned strings, sluggish tempos, and vintage amplification led to the blossoming of stoner rock.
Metric | Synthetica
Of all the Canadian acts that stumbled onto the scene in the early aughts, Metric have been the most consistent in putting out quality material.
Fawn | Coastlines
Jaded girl-boy harmonies, gleeful three-chord riffs, healthy doses of punkish noise and emo melody: Coastlines , the debut LP from Detroit indie-pop quartet Fawn, feels like a charming souvenir from a musical era two decades in the rear-view.
Review: Neil Young Journeys
Young is old now, and in Demme's film, looking like a stubbly coot in a battered Panama hat, he's having the time of his life.
Micachu & The Shapes | Never
Like her stylistic sista Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs, Micachu's Mica Levi makes pixelated, abstract anti-pop that sounds like marionettes jamming in an aluminum factory.
The Very Best | MTMTMK
"World music" is an archaic label, but there's no better way to describe the Very Best's MTMTMK .
Purity Ring | Shrines
Ever imagined what it would be like to hear an angel-voiced woman recite a book of fairy tales in the back of a nightclub at 2 am as drowsy synth lines float through the speakers?
The Gaslight Anthem | Handwritten
Handwritten finds the Gaslight Anthem firmly grounded — all grease, grit, and earnest emotion as visceral as the hometown soil caked beneath their fingernails.
Sugar | Copper Blue/Beaster + File Under: Easy Listening
Two live shows, mucho B-sides, and the ferocious Beaster EP now all compressed into one gulp could leave even the biggest power-pop fan gasping for air.
Less

Topics: CD Reviews , Music, upcomming, show, More

| More

Most Popular

The Current Issue

Table of Contents

Cover Archive

Masthead | Authors | Contact us

Blogs

Where To Follow Me
Talking Politics | March 24, 2013 at 11:09 AM

Mo Takes His Turn
March 21, 2013 at 12:59 PM

[Q&A] KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko on art, Columbine and having balls
On The Download | March 18, 2013 at 3:22 PM

See this film series: The Belmont World Film Series @ Studio Cinema in Belmont
Outside The Frame | March 18, 2013 at 11:00 AM

See this film: This is Spinal Tap [with post-film talk by expert from Acoustical Society of America] @ the Coolidge
March 17, 2013 at 12:00 PM

ARTICLES BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER

REX BROWN DELIVERS THE WORD ON PANTERA | March 20, 2013
“No holds barred” and “warts and all” are typical qualifiers when it comes to rock-and-roll memoirs, but rarely do they fulfill the promise.

PHOTOS: DEVOTCHKA AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES | March 13, 2013
DeVotchKa performs live at the House of Blues on March 9, 2013.

WHAT'S F'N NEXT? ALT-J | February 26, 2013
Bands that have taken home the United Kingdom's Mercury Prize in the past have included Suede, Pulp, Primal Scream, and Arctic Monkeys.

SHOUT OUT LOUDS | OPTICA | February 26, 2013
Stockholm's Shout Out Louds have always been a curious but consistent act.

WHAT'S F'N NEXT? CAVEMAN | February 20, 2013
Most people are probably sick to death of Brooklyn being a hipster's paradise where dinks with moustaches tatted on their fingers drive fixed-gear bikes to Williamsburg bars to pay $6.50 for a can of PBR.