Fresh from the July 25th release of their third album, Ritual Union (Peacefrog Records), Little Dragon came through the famous Roxy club in West Hollywood eager to perofm new material to an intimate and elated crowd. Immensely talented, the Swedish quartet functions organically and collectively, as all members of the group substantially contribute to the overall sensation of the music: the synths are deep, the basslines heavy and pronounced, with (nu)jazz percussion facilitating movement between the soloists and the beautiful Japanese-Swedish vocalist Yukimi Nagano.
The show began with the opening track from their new album; title track “Ritual Union,” a tune threaded together with dark and hollow synthesizers with enough bounce to get a solid two-step going. An effective and delightful warm-up leading up to the equally soulful and effervescent second track of the album, “Little Man,” has become a new personal favorite. Within the first couple of tracks the crowd got into wildin’ as the group solidified a more upbeat and chipper atmosphere channeling some Berlin and LCD Soundsystem sounds through the track “Please Turn.”
Spectators remained on a responsive cruise control for the majority of the show. Sticking predominantly to tracks from Ritual Union, Little Dragon made the crowd especially responsive to fan favorites like “Looking Glass,” a thoroughly electric, Cut Copyesque, funky a la Talking Heads track from their 2009 release, Machine Dreams. More emotional slow jams like “Feather,” and “Never Never” (both also from Machine Dreams) showcasing Nagano’s soulful and robust vocals were also warmly received. What seemed to end as a satisfactory show turned out to be a laudable performance with Little Dragon’s highly anticipated encore. The group switched out their synth-pop and funk hats and reverted back to the nu-jazz, neo-soul, and trip-hop cuts from their debut album Little Dragon. It literally went down (in the best way possible) when Little Dragon broke out with the jazz-infused “After the Rain.” This track included some powerful grunts and hollers from vocalist Nagano, as well as an impressive drum solo by percussionist/drummer Erik Bodin, which included some moving (and surprising) breaks typical of reaggaeton. The jam session simmered into the last track of the night, the sensitive and melancholic “Twice.” A swell nightcap.
Little Dragon’s sound is versatile, ever-changing, transformative, and with a definite soul and integrity. Their performance was soulful and sincere with just the right amount of bounce to the bounce. Certainly, Nagano’s futuristic costumes with high shoulders and adorable round face would be enough to see this band but the beauty of the vocalist is just bonus. With Little Dragon you get a refined and intelligent band I feel most comfortably describing as The Cure mixed a little of the bop from the drummer Art Blakey and the post-bop of a cool Miles Davis. But the comparison here is only for getting a grip on the vastness of this complete and dynamic group. Little Dragon stands on its own and has something of its own to offer with its sound particularly via Yukimi Nagano and her strong and full voice (not to mention the writing of a Japanese-Swedish woman, which no one from The Cure, nor Art Blakey or Miles Davis may offer of course). It is with great enthusiasm that I recommend you check out their performances in the future (I heard they’ll be back in L.A. in October). In the meantime get their new album Ritual Union and check out this trippy video for the track “When I Go Out,” from the new record (below).
Thanks go out to Luis Moreno and Maria Martinez for contributions to this article, both editorial and pictorial.
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