Little Dragon

An impressive debut from Swedish synth-funk/electro-pop outfit Little Dragon that starts with a suitably impressive album opener, the alluring, courtly piano ballad “Twice,” it’s circling yearning piano chords a perfect backing for vocalist/songwriter Yukimi Nagano’s vocals. Her voice has a sweet and rich timbre but with a finely ground huskiness to it and is an instrument as distinctive as it is beautiful. The sound palette here is a mix of keys and bass, sweetened with synths and fx, held down by pristine, ticking rhythm tracks that crisply interlock as tidily as Ikea flatpack furniture. The songs flit between futuristic R’n’B, funky electronic pop, and outré tech-soul, confidently mixing and matching synthetic and organic elements and there are many moments of melodic beauty contained here too.