Closing this year’s Summer Series at Somerset House were
Little Dragon, whose experimental electro provided a spectacular ending as they
played to an enthusiastic crowd who braved the rain – despite never really
having a mainstream hit.
There’s undoubtedly something incredibly alluring about
their music. Perhaps it’s their use of
moody synths, the setlist comprising tracks from their recent album ‘Nabuma
Rubberband’ as well as their past material.
A hypnotic opening led into the evocative Mirror and its curiously dissonant chiming, whilst the techno atmospherics
of Only One that closed the show
gradually evolved into a full rave. In
between, were the sombre calls of current single Pretty Girls, the menacing basslines of Killing Me and Please Turn,
and the neon bleeps and bloops of Ritual
Union and My Step, amongst
others. Swinging from ethereal
minimalism to sparkling alt-pop, the sounds are as enchantingly mesmeric as
they are deeply sensual.
Or perhaps it’s the powerfully rhythmic beats that shudder through
the body, from the thunderous crashes of Mirror
or Killing Me, to the industrial
funk shuffles of Shuffle A Dream and Test, the glitchy Ritual Union, and the erotically charged tribal crashes of Klapp Klapp. The crowd were, of course, dancing
throughout. The extended length of
certain songs was the only major criticism, leaving no time for the excellent Paris from their most recent release (or
the radio-friendly Sunshine).
The setting certainly helped the ambience, the twilit courtyard
of Somerset House presenting a clash of neo-classical architecture and ultra-modern
sounds. Smoke rose over the audience in
the fading sunlight, punctuated by sombre blue hues, a full spectrum of rainbow
neon and shimmering coloured lasers. It
was the perfect backdrop to the band’s seductive, nocturnal evocations.
Most of all, the band’s appeal comes from Swedish-Japanese
frontwoman Yukimi Nagano, who personifies their icy Scandinavian cool and
quirky oriental futurism. Her vocals
range from soft coos and breathy sighs to soulful guttural utterances, whilst
she slinks and shuffles around the stage conducting each beat and pulse with
her tambourine. She is the little
dragon, and not even the rain could extinguish her fire.
4/5
Listen: 'Nabuma Rubberband' is available now.
