Little Dragon

Ritual Union

(Peacefrog)

Record Review by Kevan Peterson

Even little dragons can give off a lot of heat, as band Little Dragon proves with their third studio release, Ritual Union.  Relying heavily on the lightly reverberated voice of lead singer Yukimi Nagano, the band features more electronic devices than a Radio Shack sidewalk sale. 

The title track features swirling vocals and electronic blips and bleeps anchored by a driving bass line.  Some tracks, like follow up tune “Little Man,” and “Please Turn,” sound a bit like a well mic'd Casio is all that’s holding the tune together, underneath the fine interwoven quilt of Nagano’s voice.  Other tunes, like “Crystalfilm” and “Nightlight,” have a glossier studio feel. 

“Summertearz” with its repeated exhales at the opening, may make the listener worry that the band has run out of steam, but it quickly becomes clear that this is not the case, or at least not yet.  “When I Go Out” plays like six minutes of a band that’s either run out of energy or is stoned out of their minds, and closing track “Seconds” almost literally ticks away the seconds until the end of the album.  That’s not to say they’re bad tracks, but they are more background music than front and center rockers.  So, it appears that maybe little dragons can breathe fire, but just not for too long.