New album fell flat of others.: undergroundhiphop.com photo

Swedish electric-pop band Little Dragon has released their fourth studio album “Nabuma Rubberband,” a follow-up to their critically-acclaimed 2011 release “Ritual Union.”

What characterized their previous albums was an excellent mix of upbeat and unique electronic beats and singer Yukimi Nagano’s excellent voice.

Nagano has a wide vocal range which can hit some of the highest notes, but is also comfortable at lower ranges.

“Ritual Union” featured hard-hitting vocals and musical performances, including, but not limited to “Ritual Union,” “Little Man,” and “Shuffle a Dream.”

Little Dragon’s new release “Nabuma Rubberband,” follows in some of the footsteps of its predecessor, but takes a different route.

This album takes on a more otherworldly feel to it, but seems to forgo the memorable and upbeat rhythms which were more common in “Ritual Union.”

Songs like “Underbart,” my favorite on the album, has excellent diversity and flow between the driving bass and Nagano’s voice, but even the instrumentals only seem to be a small driver for the song.

“Klapp Klapp” was the most upbeat song on the album, and drives quickly through a pulsing bass beat alongside the falsetto chorus.

Another favorite from the album was “Only One,” a diverse song that is an excellent showcase for Nagano’s voice, especially at the high end of her range, but then transitions into a quick electronic and synth exit to the song.

Overall the songs in this album fall somewhat flat on the musical range, but Yukimi Nagano’s voice really pulls through.

I rate this album a 6.5/10.