Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8/10

The eye of the storm is the most wondrous place, it is the moment’s serenity before the wall of sound assaults every sense possible and leaves you breathless and hungry for more.  It is a storm of its own, it is the quieter but no less important, nor less impressive, time in which letting your guard down might just result in the surprise of your life and in the spirit of singer/songwriter Dani, that quiet repose was granted and yet with the power of a pre-rumbling earthquake, something seismic was unleashed inside Leaf.

Any audience has the potential to whip itself into inexhaustible fury, to let the gathering energy build up and keep the powerful swell in just long enough till the moment of relief in which it spills over like a domino being casually flicked with the most delicate of touches. The carnage wrought upon the pack is only seen at the end and the sheer endeavour of painstaking placement appreciated.

For DANI the appreciation was instant, it didn’t quell the growling beast that was waiting on its main prey to be served up, its insatiable lust for the main act but it did go a long way to being sated for a while and it was with no wonder. For in the small frame resides a talent that is undeniable with such a beautiful voice that sirens on the rocks that entice many a sailor to its doom would look out with envy and vocal greed and guitar fuelled spite.

The set may have been short but the legacy was long lasting. Like Wallis Bird for whom she was opening, hearts were open to her particular songs, the audience seemingly ready to covet and take care of them. Songs such as the opener Swan’s Lane and the might of The Devil’s Pond flowed like silk down a rapid river. The instrumental of The Magpie languished in the arms of an affectionate embrace and the latest single The Heartbeats was a storming affair in which atoms colliding in Switzerland would cause less havoc on humanity than the strange creature that drives our bodies as a result of hearing the song.

The catalyst or the peace before the thunderstorm, sometimes they are the same thing. Without one you cannot have the other but for those inside Leaf, this was the beginning of a heady night of temptation, the urge to swim against the tide and roar at nature’s demands. Very cool and reserved but with the beating heart of a lion and a sincerity to match, DANI is truly a find.

Ian D. Hall