In 2011, vocalist Danielle Reich moved from Houston to Austin, trading the comfort of steady gigs and a loyal following for an adventure in one of the prime music cities in the country. Reich embraced the challenge head-on, hitting jam sessions, attending gigs of town luminaries. Making herself known. The risk paid off. Within a year, Reich established a solid footing in Austin’s eclectic music scene, regularly performing at many of the town’s popular music venues. She did this while maintaining her musical relationship with the city she had left, trekking to Houston for gigs between her Austin performances. She is without question one of the hardest-working singers in the region. In 2012, Reich was fortunate enough to befriend Austin’s reigning guitarist superhero, Mitch Watkins (Leonard Cohen, Lyle Lovett). When the two performed with Austin stalwarts Steve Schwelling (drums) and Pat Harris (bass), one of Reich’s fans suggested the quartet go into the studio. The next time the quartet performed, the request was repeated, and Reich asked the band, “well, how about it?” A month later, WHILE THEY WERE DANCING was born. Throughout this recording, Reich and company dig deep into the lore of Texas swing, presenting a program that riffs on both love and loss. There’s the ebullience of I GOT IT BAD and DEARLY BELOVED. The Cohenesque retelling of AUTUMN LEAVES. The reworked new wave of MAD WORLD. As on her 2011 debut, THIS YEAR’S KISSES, the session is peppered with a delightful dose of melancholy - the spare beauty of MY FOOLISH HEART and TENNESSEE WALTZ provide the album’s strongest moments. In all, WHILE THEY WERE DANCING is a memorable session, one that should lead to even greater things for the Florida-born singer. - Andrew Lienhard, March, 2015