Danielle (smile on my face 2)

The "(2)" in the title implies a return — a revisiting of a person and a feeling — and the warmth of the track makes this repetition feel like a gift given twice. Danielle's presence in the music reads as genuinely joyful, and Fred again.. amplifies this quality until the track becomes a small celebration of one person's specific capacity to generate happiness in others. The production is lighter and more buoyant than some of the heavier Actual Life tracks, with genuine exuberance in the percussion and melodic elements that prevents the tenderness from curdling into sentimentality. Fred again..'s skill with sampling reaches something particularly affecting here: the voice material is treated with such care that you feel you know Danielle, or rather you feel acquainted with a version of someone you've never met who nevertheless made you smile. Culturally this sits in a specifically British emotional register — the joy is real but slightly surprised at itself, a little self-deprecating in its sincerity. The music knows a smile is a small thing and makes it feel enormous anyway. Excellent headphone music for commutes that turn unexpectedly, beautifully ordinary.