- The word college automatically draws up imagery in the mind. If you're young, it's anticipation. If you're old, it's nostalgia. David Grellier knows this well, naming his lovely synth-driven project after the place, hoping to soak up some of the natural feelings that it evokes. His tone poems help the cause along. "A Real Hero," on his first EP for Flexx, features the vocals of Electric Youth, but they work best as simply another instrument, offering harmonic accompaniment to the somber, descending melody. Grellier never builds things to any sort of climax, instead opting to take what amounts to an aural black-and-white snapshot of a bespectacled Spanish class nerd staring longingly at a girl in a tight sweater.
Clearly intended for home listening, "Closer" and "The Mirage Makers" don't make it past the two-minute mark, quickly setting out a scene and then extinguishing the vibe before you realize that it's a single idea and nothing more. You can hear what happens when Grellier extends things on both the aforementioned "A Real Hero" and "Critical Mass," but he's smart enough to make sure that each of these tunes is a distinct yellowed memory. While the method is similar, there's no mistaking the one track that makes you think of a boy in a cardigan. The one about Susan waiting. The tune that sounds like a crooked smile. A Real Hero is all of these things. And, once you hear it, you'll likely make up your very own.
Tracklist A1 A Real Hero feat. Electric Youth
A2 Closer
B1 Critical Mass
B2 The Mirage Makers
B3 Susan Waiting