In 2011, the world was first given the aural delight of LA-based artist Pat Grossi, aka Active Child, and his beautifully sweet nothings. It’s now 4 years on and I have been sitting here listening to his newest offering Mercy for the past few hours, and so far it has proved a few things;
1st) What a sweet, sweet lull this is.
2nd) I must have a pretty short attention span
3rd) Easy listening 101.
Now, I suppose I need to elaborate on the above more so. What I mean to say, is that despite listening to this album numerous times (and it going down a treat!) I honestly cannot differentiate between tracks with any conviction. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it adds to the overall experience and it’s definitely a start to finish album, however, the subtle overlays between tracks with melodies and lyrics are so very subdued, you might think it’s one big long song.
There are definitely more sombre notes throughout the album, one being track ‘Darling’, with it’s beautiful gentle strumming guitar and Grossi’s haunting vocals. Grossi has said himself that “This album more than previous releases feels like more of a collaboration between the producer and I. His fingerprints are all over these songs and he really pushed me vocally, more than anyone has before.” which is really prominent across the album.
There are so many great parts from start to finish, however none are distinctly different from the rest, so it gets difficult to try and tease this out and examine it piece by piece. What you really need to know is that Mercy is a beautifully crafted album, one that can be listened to on repeat without getting bored, and one that is insanely easy listening. Active Child have yet again mastered ambient chill-wave which definitely won’t displease his fans.
However a word of warning, you may find yourself listening to the entire album multiple times and not notice – tread carefully!
Rating: ★★★★
Mercy is available from iTunes, through Spunk Records.
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