Little Dragon

In 2007, the praises of Little Dragon’s eponymous debut went shamefully unsung on this continent. You’d think a quirky electronic soul quartet from Sweden would catch the ear of American listeners—especially when said quartet is fronted by a fetching Swedish-Japanese woman. But they’re getting notice now. With a colorful palette of acoustic instruments and synths, that album boasted a no-nonsense (but not quite minimalist) approach to pop songwriting and jazzy, melancholic vocals from Yukimi Nagano, a winning formula the band expanded upon with 2009’s Machine Dreams, and this summer’s Ritual Union and its eponymous single actually charted. The tour with Gorillaz and celebrity fans in Big Boi and ?uestlove didn’t hurt. 

Updated 10/04/2011