Active Child - Rapor

Previewing ‘Rapor’ last month with ‘Subtle’, Pat Grossi aka Active Child threw down a gauntlet to anyone expecting another collection of choral R&B. In many ways, Grossi still skirts between the pews and extravagant glass of a church, but ‘Rapor’ is built on much finer stone.

It opens with the glacial instrumental ‘She Cut Me’, Grossi giving a glimpse of his castrato voice in brief murmurs. Any dolorous projections are disposed of with ‘Subtle’, featuring Mikky Ekko, who pits his glossy pop hooks against Grossi’s ethereal and haughty vocals. It progresses into something bigger and bolder, with an 80s pop inspired beat that erupts and spills into dance-floor territory. ‘Silhouette’ is certainly one to raise eyebrows, which features Ellie Goulding, a real masterstroke who acts as a foil for Grossi’s grandeur.

Ending with ‘Evening Ceremony’, with angelic harp plucks, it’s hard not to feel in awe of Grossi’s elegiac nature. That’s the crux of ‘Rapor’ as a whole, it stands before you with the reverence of a cathedral and leaves you with a lasting sense of piety and clarity.