★★★★★
Modern pop is in a strange place. Crossovers abound from Juicy J showing up on "Dark Horse" to Miley teaming up with the Flaming Lips. It's exciting to watch a genre often maligned as pandering to a mass audience have experimental edges creep into the mainstream conscious. In 2014 the most intriguing (and possibly strangest) development is Nabuma Rubberband. It's a fascinating mix of soul, trip-hop, and American pop born out of Gothenburg, Sweden, of all places...
- www.popmatters.com
2014-05-23
★★★★★
Despite forming in the mid-90s, it took until earlier this decade for Gothenburg's Little Dragon to properly break through. When they did, courtesy of the single Ritual Union and the accompanying album of the same name, it was difficult to believe they'd been kept a secret for so long. Ritual Union had a good hook, an insistent beat and a bunch of weird noises - what was there not to love...
- www.noripcord.com
2014-05-19
★★★★★
Yukimi Nagano's voice is a force of nature, but not in the way you might think. As the frontwoman for Sweden's Little Dragon, Nagano has a smoky, sultry R&B voice that is instantly recognizable. She's backed by a band that knows how to meld and shape minimalist electronica into the pop landscape, throwing in a good measure of classic soul...
- www.undertheradarmag.com
2014-05-17
★★★★★
Midway through Little Dragon's deliriously good fourth record arrives "Paris," an early-Prince inspired electro-pop revelation. The blissful confection accentuates the Swedish band's diversity and savvy as it's nestled amid 11 other songs that further deepen the band's sound while revealing dimensions only hinted at previously. The group, led by vocalist Yukimi Nagano, spends a good portion of the album slowing the beat down to explore more sensuous grooves...
- www.bostonglobe.com
2014-05-14
★★★★★
WHEN AN ACT PREVIOUSLY SHROUDED in mystery suddenly make a move for transparency it can be disconcerting. What if all that lies behind the curtain is a rather bored-looking socialite with strangely pouty lips or an old German guy in PVC trousers? Happily, Little Dragon's fourth album striptease is not so cynical or dramatic as Lana Del Rey's or Milli Vanilli's...
- www.mojo4music.com
2014-05-13
★★★★★
In 2007, Little Dragon released their jazzy, soul-drenched, self-titled debut. At the end of the record's introductory piano piece, "Twice", lead vocalist Yukimi Nagano sighs, "One mirror holding us dearer now." The record continues with lyrical imagery encompassing curiosity, surprise, love, and some weather-specific emotions...
- consequenceofsound.net
2014-05-13
★★★★★
For the last few years, Little Dragon have quietly graduated to the status of 'the next most likely to succeed'. It's not just been the quality of their three albums (and their fourth, Ritual Union, was one of the best albums of 2012), but the frequency that they showed up elsewhere too. Guest spots with the prestigious likes of Gorillaz, SBTRKT and TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek only confirmed their burgeoning reputation...
- www.musicomh.com
2014-05-13
★★★★★
opinion by SAMUEL TOLZMANN < @scatlint >
That Little Dragon's commercial successes have come from collaborations - with Gorillaz, Big Boi, SBTRKT, and network television - speaks volumes about their music. The Swedish quartet is, first and foremost, an extremely stylish band. They flaunt a thoroughly studied syllabus of influences impressive in its breadth (even if Stereolab and Broadcast hit all these points already), encompassing the tasteful and the kitschy with an omnivorous concern for...
- prettymuchamazing.com
2014-05-13
★★★★★
That carefree and innocent look contradicts the sound of Little Dragon's fourth album. It doesn't look like it should begin with an austere, shuddering ballad in which Yukimi Nagano achingly stews prior to resolving, as ice flows through her veins, "You're gonna make me put my fist through this mirror...
- www.allmusic.com
2014-05-25