little dragon

Nothing about Little Dragon makes sense. Nothing. They sound like some post-R&B electro group fronted by a soulful female voice, and yet they’re three Swedish dudes and a Japanese woman. Their best song, the ridiculously beguiling “Blinking Pigs,” was — until now — only available as a B-side. And they combine what you love about the Knife and Lykke Li and so many others of that ilk (and do it just as well), only you’ve never heard of them. WTF

Machine Dreams is Little Dragon’s new record, and even with my six month love for “Blinking Pigs” that went way over the line into obsession, I wasn’t expecting much. The other stuff that I had heard was limp and often dull — just didn’t have “Blinking”‘s spark, and had more effort than character.

This past week I finally listened to Machine Dreams and — no surprise — oh shit was I wrong. Everything I loved about “Blinking” — the sassy rhythms, icy veneer and smart marriage of R&B elements and minimal techno — is so here. The discordant, blurpy beauty of “My Step” alone has quickly rocketed up my charts for its sly chorus alone, such a sultry little thing.

That whole Little Boots/Lykke Li vibe very much defines this record, with a touch of It’s Blitz Yeah Yeah Yeahs thrown in, too. But where to file the expert ’80s power ballad “Feather”? Its closest relative might be When In Rome’s “I Promise.” We’re talking graduate degree pop here, folks.

And really what an amazing voice Yukimi Nagano has. Beyond the whole Japanese-woman-singing-like-Santogold thing, she has real pipes, great control and an exceptionally strong style. She likes to elongate and stare you straight in the eye. She challenges, something you don’t hear a lot of in music like this. Everything that’s special about Little Dragon comes from Nagano. She’s a star.