Active Child – Curtis Lane EP

Pat Grossi, better known as Active Child, was raised in church, singing to the heavens in the choir. Now that he’s all grown up, there are no more robes or hymnals but his soaring, airy vocals remain. They penetrate his music and travel upwards, snaking their way to even the highest steeple. Underneath that, Curtis Lane oozes with candied synth melodies sprinkled with claps, smacks, and swooshes. From floating beats and golden harps on She Was a Vision to the stale, lonely chill of Wilderness, there is much diversity to be had on this 6 song EP.

The anchor of this collection is certainly When Your Love Is Safe, a viscous track that drips with sweet electro-pop. The song begins by shimmying down into your ears as Grossi laces his aforementioned falsetto into the beat. Like one would stir in syrup to a milkshake, the vocals finally fold over one another as the track ends, creating a remix of itself. The following track, Take Shelter, also stands out as the music takes a turn down a dark alley. Grossi reassures, however, that if you’re ever on the wrong side of this town / there’s a place that I know of that will hold you down. The descending keyboard melody accentuates the uneasiness until finally we can exhale as a valiant roll of soundwaves sweep through the bleakness.

In only half the volume of a full length, Active Child explores warm vs. numb, vibrance vs. isolation, and hope vs. fear. During all that flux, Grossi somehow creates a very material demention on this EP as the music almost becomes textile in nature. Do not be surprised if Curtis Lane evokes the desire to physically take the music and turn into it like a comforter on a cold winter’s night.