Rapor - EP

Album review

As Active Child, singer/songwriter Pat Grossi creates atmospheric electronic music to showcase his symphonic keyboard arrangements and angelic, soprano croon. Following up his acclaimed full-length debut, 2011's You Are All I See, Active Child's 2013 EP, Rapor, once again focuses on Grossi's sophisticated electronic pop. Here, Grossi's songs straddle the line between club-oriented dance music and more introspective and arty singer/songwriter compositions. In that sense, much like You Are All I See, Rapor brings to mind similarly inclined works by bands like Brooklyn's X Ambassadors, Britain's James Blake, and Frankmusik. Perhaps not surprisingly then, Grossi is joined on this album by several guest vocalists, including British electronic pop diva Ellie Goulding, who duets on the languid, sprawling, and utterly heartbreaking ballad "Silhouette." It's a gorgeous song that should earn much deserved comparisons to Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush's classic 1986 team-up "Don't Give Up." Also lending his soulful energy to Rapor is Louisiana's Mikky Ekko, who backs Grossi on the moody, angular, late-night anthem "Subtle." Elsewhere on Rapor, Grossi builds upon his growing reputation as a master of enigmatic, electro-soundscape soul with songs like "Feeling Is Gone," "Calling in the Name of Love," and the languid "Evening Ceremony." It might not be the full-length follow-up to You Are All I See that Active Child fans are waiting for, but brevity aside, the high quality of the songs on Rapor more than fulfills on Grossi's promise.

© Matt Collar /TiVo