Dani Siciliano Slappers
“If you speak/Speak your mind/Use your head/Not your behind,” sings Dani Siciliano on the title […]
“If you speak/Speak your mind/Use your head/Not your behind,” sings Dani Siciliano on the title track of her second full-length, Slappers–though, from the funkiness that follows, you might suspect she only half-believes what she’s saying. While her lyrics are full of personal and political contemplation, it’s still possible (encouraged, even) to dance to the jazz-jam of “Why Can’t I Make You High?” and the subtle 4/4 beats of “Too Young,” though it’ll probably be around your house rather than at the club. Like her longtime collaborator Matthew Herbert, Siciliano embraces the sampler’s infinite possibilities, creating a framework of found sounds that her most powerful instrument-her voice-solidifies and strengthens. Most interestingly, she plays with her personas as sidekick and singular artist (note “Be My Producer,” which occasionally exchanges “producer” for “seducer”), proving Siciliano is one of the present moment’s most thoughtful and inventive artists.