New Form Of Life

Little Dragon “Stå Upp”

Yukimi Nagano has a wonderful voice that conveys style and soulfulness, but I don’t think it would be as powerful in Little Dragon’s music if the group was not as masterful in its use of keyboards. “Stå Upp” is a fine example of the way they balance delicate atmospheric parts with melody lines that have this remarkable tonality that always reminds me of colorful artificial light. The sound has this slick, sophisticated quality, but it’s not overly tasteful — there’s a seediness to it, like some bar that’s intended to be classy but has aged into becoming a dive anyway. Also, I love the springiness of their beats, it adds to this overall lightness in the sound. If you imagine the beat as something that keeps a song grounded, the percussion here never seems to touch the floor for very long.

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