26 Jul Little Dragon – Ritual Union | Album Review
Swedish electronic and synth-pop band Little Dragon return with their third studio album Ritual Union. Having won us over on their 2007 self-titled debut album with their adept left-field interpretation of contemporary American R&B and Soul music and with such beautiful songs as “Constant Surprises” and “Twice,” Yukimi Nagano and her Little Dragon quartet returned in 2009 with Machine Dreams. A further move to the left and away from the R&B and Soul roots of their debut album, Machine Dreams delved into more experimental, rich and luscious sounding Electro-Pop domain and boasted such exceptional records as “Fortune,” Thunder Love” and my personal favourite Little Dragon song, “Blinking Pigs”. Two years on and it seems the band have kept their fans waiting for long enough - but has our two year wait been well worth it?
R&B/Soul legend and Grammy-Award winning singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Raphael Saadiq recently released his fourth studio album Stone Rollin’ (March, 2011) and the follow up to 2008’s instant class is The Way I See It. Expanding the mid-'60s Motown “classic soul revival” sound into more eclectic territory by including elements of classic Rock & Roll, Blues, Funk and expansive '70s styled Orchestral music, the new LP's general aesthetic leans towards Saadiq’s live performances and influences being drawn from classic artists such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Howlin’ Wolf and Sly Stone amongst others.
There's good news and bad news. The good news is that Stone Rollin' is not a bad record but the bad news is it's not a very good record either, by Raphael Saadiq standards.