Ritual Union

AlbumJul 25 / 201111 songs, 43m 36s
Electropop Art Pop
Popular

Little Dragon’s original blend of cool vocals, bouncing electronics, and classy beats comes together perfectly on their third album, *Ritual Union*. The rubbery bass and propulsive percussion of the title track provide a slinky soundtrack for singer Yukimi Nagano to chew over the pitfalls of marriage and monogamy; elsewhere, her soulful voice is swept along by gorgeous synths on the catchy, R&B-kissed pop of “Shuffle a Dream,” and then layered with reverb over the cold electronic pulses of “Little Man.”

6.7 / 10

Sweden's Little Dragon have a distinct and immediately alluring style, and on their third album, they double down on their futuristic pop sound.

D+

In 2002, Swedish duo Koop released the single “Summer Sun,” a groovy appropriation of ’50s American lounge jazz featuring a female vocal that could have been sampled wholesale from a dusty old hi-fi record. The voice happened to come from precocious 15-year-old Gothenburg resident Yukimi Nagano. Five years later, she…

8 / 10

6.5 / 10

I don’t think I like electronica. The emphasis in that statement should be on the word think . Because while I don’t think…

Check out our album review of Artist's Ritual Union on Rolling Stone.com.

Make no mistake, this is a record that sounds like nothing else out there in 2011.

Diverse post-Machine Dreams collaborations with Gorillaz, David Sitek/Maximum Balloon, Raphael Saadiq, and SBTRKT made Ritual Union the most anticipated Little Dragon album yet.

5.0 / 10

Little Dragon has never suffered from a lack of confidence.

8 / 10

It’s been a stellar year for Little Dragon.

<p>Little Dragon frustratingly still have yet to find a distinctive voice, says <strong>Kitty Empire</strong></p>

7 / 10

Little Dragon doesn’t break much new ground on their third album, but that’s beside the point.

54 %

Album Reviews: Little Dragon - Ritual Union

89 %

Little Dragon's Ritual Union is a spellbinding collection.