The sophomore release from the NYC-based Say She She is a continuation of their disco-based pop, as Silver finds pristine vocals riding on top of waves of dancefloor-ready tracks.
The trio of Piya Malik, Sabrina Mileo Cunningham, and Nya Gazelle Brown are the vocalists and the focal point as producer/guitar player Sergio Rios (Orgone) employed a core band of Daniel Hastie: keys + synths, Dale Jennings: bass, and Samual Halterman: drums, to support the singers.
The album starts the dance party flowing with opener “Reeling” as floating electro keys mix with deep bass around a mid-tempo groove and fluttering vocals. Light funk is everywhere on the album as “Forget Me Not” has sweet singing and head-bopping beats while loose funk colors are “Entry Level”. The band also drops directly into late 70’s disco with a Chic-inspired effort “C’est Si Bon”, and “Echo In The Chamber” which has layers of wah-wah and glistening sounds.
The outfit works best when they combine disco/funk/soul like on “Passing Time” which ends on a soaring note and Silver standout “Astral Plane” which gets down as Malik, Cunningham, and Brown use three-part harmony while also singing excellently around each other as the breakdown allows the vocalists to get exploratory in winning fashion.
While most efforts in these genres are quick, to-the-point dance numbers, SIlver goes long. The tracks usually push four and a half minutes while Say She She offers up sixteen songs on this release, resulting in a double album. The effects can be a bit numbing as the songs catch their groove and float along for an extended time, efforts like the slow, shimmering “The Water”, the light soul of “Don’t You Dare Stop” and the electro-funk of “Questions” go on too long without a whole lot of innovation or memorable moments.
Better is when Say She She keeps it direct as on the funky drumming/flute-based “Think About It” and the Talking Heads influenced easy rolling, gleaming pop of “Never Say Never” which ends up an album highlight. However, when the band gets really out there, like on the dramatically cinematic, multi-layered vocals of “Bleeding Heart” and the elongated, dreamy closing title track, good results follow as well.
The album gets its heaviest funk and protest vocals revved up for “NORMA”, a song about the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as Jason Colby’s trumpet, Sam Robles bari sax and tenor sax, hand claps, and electro keys support the trio of defiant vocalists. This banging number hints at a wider range of offerings Say She She can explore, but as Silver stands, the NYC disco-pop outfit delivers a lot of grooving, dance-ready options.
