Ears Wide Open: Active Child

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ActiveChild

Active Child sounds like a side project for a church’s youth choir, and that is in no way a pejorative. In fact, it’s close to the truth – New Jersey-born Pat Grossi (who moved to L.A. as a teenager and then attended college in Colorado) plied his falsetto for the Philadelphia Boys Choir, an experience, he says, that “really sculpted my ears in a way that has highly influenced my vocal melodies and compositions.” No surprise, then, that “She Was a Vision” moves like a procession, aching with every step, with sweeping choral vocals floating above frosty synths, punctuated with a little sad harp. This teardrop of a song was a vinyl release earlier this month on the label of the U.K. blog Transparent (with B-side “Voice of an Old Friend” it’ll be out digitally in February). Grossi is currently at work on more home recordings, with a six-song EP planned for later this year.

||| Stream: “She Was a Vision”

||| Live: Active Child opens for the Big Pink on March 9 at the El Rey Theatre.