Cool Hunting

A frequent collaborator of UK pop-click producer (and CH favorite) Matthew Herbert, the talented vocalist Dani Siciliano returns with her second solo album, the beautifully minimal Slappers. Herbert’s influence here is clear (whether or not he actually produced this record isn't), but Slappers has its own distinctive sound as well.

Both Herbert and Siciliano have the rare ability to successfully fuse pop and experimental music. But where he tends to make big music with his little sounds, she makes little music with hers. Working with limited sound palettes and lots of space, Siciliano crafts sparse and raw pop songs dotted with striking vocal harmonies that momentarily surface and recede like time-lapse films of blossoming flowers.

With classical, jazz, and electronic credibility, it’s not surprising that—without losing the cohesiveness of her sound—Siciliano dabbles in new forms on this album, most prominently in the country blues-influenced “Why Can’t I Make You High.” Like Björk’s Vespertine, the album is both intricate and intimate, Siciliano’s vocals often feel like she's whispering in your ear. Some songs, without seeming incomplete, give the refreshing impression of being unfinished, like a glimpse of a fleeting thought echoing and deteriorating, while others pulse with an almost-danceable electro thump. Preorder it from Soul Seduction.

Also on Cool Hunting: Herbert Scale, DJ Scribe