Little Dragon are a Swedish band I discovered through Wendy Melvoin. She was asked about a group she really wanted to work with and she said, "Little Dragon". That's some serious high praise in my book and so I decided to check out the band and find out what they were all about.
Initially, I listened to them on Youtube. There are a couple of streams that play entire records and by the time I found them, they'd released 3. I listened to the records in order and as each album finished, I found myself wondering at what I'd just heard and what was going on...
Probably the most remarkable thing you notice right off the bat is the minimalist sound of the group. Studio recordings often feature drum machines even though one of the band members is a drummer. Their sound could be labeled electronic, but they blend acoustic instruments in as well and they don't follow a typical electronic dance beat in most of their songs. "Nabuma Rubberband" demonstrates this probably more than any of their previous releases. It also shows you the focus of the tunes is the lyric.
The lead singer of Little Dragon is Yukimi. She's half Japanese and half Swede. I don't know exactly what it is about her, but I find her extremely beautiful. She's enchanting. Her beauty is stunning. Vocally, she has a rather small voice. She lacks the projected volume of singers most often celebrated for their brash loudness. She'd never walk on a reality show like "American Idol" and get past a single judge. But what she does with her voice is so unique and interesting, there's no comparing it to anyone else.
The way this band composes and performs music, is more like a Jazz quartet to me rather than an electronic group.
But enough with the rambling... Talk about the album: So the opening track is 'Mirror' and it starts off slow and haunting. By the time Yukimi actually begins to sing, you're wondering what's happening. She refers to passing looks, shocked impressions and you start to think she's looking at herself in a mirror and disappointed or upset with what she's seeing. As the song progresses, you get the sense she's in the middle of an argument with a lover or someone she's close to emotionally. There's an acoustic drum fill in the middle of the song and some sound effects that make a brief appearance... Otherwise, the two chord intro and the spooky drum track are the only ingredients to the song. She ends the number by saying, "You're gonna make me put my fist through this mirror." finally expressing the tension and anger have built enough she can no longer contain them and she's about to lash out physically. It's a very powerful expression of strong angry feelings.
The second song is 'Klapp Klapp' and this is one of my favorite songs on the record. There's a very simple repeating snare drum introducing us to this track and it sounds like a bass might be playing alongside, but you realize shortly it's a keyboard sound. Coming off of 'Mirror', this number gallops in and wallops you right across the face. This is an unusual song. The lyrics tell a strange story of a dreamscape. You picture her standing on an old bridge spanning a small river. And it's winter. The best part of the song for me is when she sings, "Fallin' apart, apart, apart, apart, apart". It's such an interesting arrangement. Next up is 'Pretty Girls'. The echo is turned up high on the simple drum track and it sounds distant but constant. The song is advising young girls striking out on their own to be careful and not take unnecessary chances. It's a very simple song, but very powerful. "You magnify the universe". Towards the end, some lovely violin playing comes in and sweetly accentuates the message. 'Underbart' has a great sustained keyboard motif at the beginning that reminds me heavily of the Pet Shop Boys. But where they would follow it up with a dance drum track, Little Dragon set up a strong but somewhat slower rhythm. This song is about a couple at the end of the relationship and reaching that moment when you finally don't care anymore and you just want to be free. "Blow up the bridge and into the morning"... Cut ties and start a new day. It's compelling and certainly sets a trend and pace for the album.
'Cat Rider' is a ballad and seems to continue the story from 'Underbart'. He suddenly realizes certain things now that he's lost her. She saw through the facade he puts up for the world to see. She moved past it and loved the real him. And yet he couldn't accept it. He pushed her away. 'Paris' is the first single from the album and it's easily the most accessible and radio friendly track on the disc. It's got a great beat, interesting lyrics, a very smooth vocal delivery and it's infectious. Sometimes, when I'm driving with someone in my truck, I'll put this disc in and cue up 'Paris'. It never fails to get my passengers moving in their seats.
'Lurad' is a strange 9 second track with a guy yelling over some crashing drums. 'Nabuma Rubberband' starts and you'd swear you were at a waltz. This entire song seems to describe different ways you can feel outcast and alone. Probably the most powerful line is "Being born at the wrong place, in the wrong time, with the wrong fate." A pulsing drawn out keyboard line starts 'Only One'. It's another ballad. This time however, there's some interesting progression towards the end of the song. 'Killing Me' takes the beat built up at the end of the previous track and drags it down into a spiraling and dismal number about the pain of being alone after a breakup. That absence become a death. "You're Killing Me". 'Pink Cloud' is both mysterious and quirky. It seems to be about growing old and the world getting away from you. Everything passes so quickly. 'Let Go' might seem like another sad song at first, but it's more of her convincing herself to go ahead and let herself love. She knows he'll catch up shortly. And she's sure it's OK to cast caution to the wind and choose love.
The majority of this record deals with break up, ending relationships, missing someone and pain. You imagine something horrible must have happened to Yukimi or one of the band members for them to write so many sad songs. If I could, I would hug them all.
There's no way I can fully describe the simplicity of the music and how effective this minimalist approach to composing songs is in the hands of these unexpectedly mature and intelligent musicians. I realize most electronic music buffs are never going to life what Little Dragon are doing. You don't listen to this music and picture the swirling lights, smoke and lasers of the Love Parade. What you do get, is mature, complicated themed music written to make you think, uncluttered, clean, pure and full of life. People who do get what this band are doing find themselves intrigued and unwilling to turn their radios off. If I had one complaint, it's that this is the first album where I feel like they didn't outdo their previous effort. Each subsequent release has been an improvement upon the last. Music, lyrics, vocal arrangements... It all just keeps getting better. But here, we didn't see the marked improvement. But the tracks are flawless and strong.
I recently picked up the Japanese version of the album. It has a different cover and three additional tracks. The first is a track called 'Winners' and it's amazing. The second two are mixes of 'Klapp Klapp' and 'Paris'. I really like both. They're unusual and completely in tune with what you'd expect from this amazing group. My final words: WITHOUT A DOUBT ONE OF THE MOST VITAL AND EXCITING SOUNDS ON THE MODERN MUSIC SCENE. GET TO KNOW THEM.
LITTLE DRAGON - NABUMA RUBBERBAND
01. Mirror
02. Klapp Klapp
03. Pretty Girls
04. Underbart
05. Cat Rider
06. Paris
07. Lurad
08. Nabuma Rubberband
09. Only One
10. Killing Me
11. Pink Cloud
12. Let Go
JAPANESE BONUS TRACKS
13. Winners
14. Klapp Klapp (Girls Unit Remix)
15. Paris (The Flexican Remix)
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