It seems barely credible, but next year is Little Dragon’s 30th birthday. Although Yukimi Nagano has fronted the Swedish electronic dance act since she was at school, For You is her first solo album. Strength-through-suffering gem Break Me Down is an excellent lead single – a filigree of a pop song freewheeling on Yukimi’s enticing, airy vocal. Its summery drift is shared with neighbours Make Me Whole and Runaway, riffing confidently on 70s soul and 90s nu-jazz, love letters to hope in uncertain times.
Winter Is Not Dead’s Björkish marriage of minimal electronics and layered harmonies is delicious, as is No Prince’s vocal crescendo and Peace Reign’s pendulous bassline, curling its fingers around the guts of the song. Walk-on parts for Nagano’s sons and father feel mildly indulgent. Still, she says that “when songwriting is personal, it also becomes very accessible, because we’re not that different from one another”, and that sentiment shines through her work. Each individual taste may not last long on the tongue but the flavours combine into something sweetly pleasurable.
