As the Green Child, former Grass Widow guitarist/singer Raven Mahon and Total Control’s Mikey Young craft eerie electro-pop shaped by classic sci-fi and their vintage equipment. On their evocative 2018 self-titled debut, they introduced the lush analog synths, deceptively calm vocals, and poetic songwriting that they honed further on 2020’s Shimmering Basset.
Mahon and Young met in 2013 when their bands played together and began making music the following year. Taking inspiration — and the project’s name — from Herbert Read’s 1935 utopian sci-fi novel The Green Child, the pair spent several years collaborating in Young’s studio and internationally (at the time, Mahon resided in San Francisco, while Young lived in Melbourne). Young’s Total Control bandmate Al Montfort contributed to the Green Child’s self-titled debut, which appeared in January 2018 on Upset the Rhythm Records and won praise for its retro-futuristic approach. Following the album’s release, Mahon moved to Australia. She and Young settled in a beachside house in Rye, a town south of Melbourne, and wrote and recorded in their basement studio.
The Green Child resurfaced in 2020 with July’s “Rats on the Roof,” a contribution to Chapter Music’s Midnight Meditations compilation; September’s “Geranium,” which appeared on The Searchers & Hobbies Galore Compilation; and an October cover of Canned Heat’s “Poor Moon,” which was part of a lunar-themed singles series issued by Australia’s RISING Festival. That year also saw the release of the Green Child’s second album, Shimmering Basset. Alluding to influences as diverse as Andy Kim and Hot Chocolate, it appeared on Upset the Rhythm in October 2020. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi
