The final time Swedish band Little Dragon carried out for Tiny Desk, the group wasn’t really at the Desk. Like quite a lot of Tiny Desk alum who performed between 2020 and 2022, Little Dragon delivered its debut Tiny Desk as a (residence) live performance within the band’s Gothenburg studio. That efficiency offered a comforting balm to many throughout the early and complicated months of the worldwide pandemic. Lastly internet hosting the quartet in our Washington, D.C. workplace was the final word objective, and on this in individual Tiny Desk, Little Dragon delivers a efficiency awash with upbeat and optimistic melodies balanced by a grounded presentation.

For the reason that band’s debut album in 2007, Little Dragon created a mix of R&B, soul, electronica and dance pop that pushes the boundaries of simplistic style classification. The whimsical whistling of drummer Erik Bodin in “Tumbling Cube” is the proper complement to singer Yukimi Nagano encouraging us to “make it value each step as we go.” The cosmic pop tones of “Ritual Union” are stripped away right here, and the driving beat on this slowed down rendition heightens the contemplative lyrics on marriage. “Gold,” from the band’s latest album Slugs of Love, is a standout on this set. The verses construct to a cool, thumping bassline, courtesy of Bodin and bassist Fredrik Wallin, anchoring a refrain that interpolates the Whitney Houston tune “Million Greenback Invoice.”

Keyboardist Håkan Wirenstrand delivers flowing elaborations and solos on each observe, notably within the final track of the set, “The place You Belong,” from 2020’s New Me, Identical Us. Nagano’s honeyed vocals make the track concurrently mournful and hopeful, as she touches her hand to her chest, reminding us our misplaced family members have “been there all alongside, proper the place you belong.”

SET LIST

• “Tumbling Cube”
• “Ritual Union”
• “Gold”
• “The place You Belong”

MUSICIANS

• Yukimi Nagano: vocals
• Erik Bodin: drums, vocals
• Fredrik Wallin: bass, vocals 
• Håkan Wirenstrand: keys, vocals

TINY DESK TEAM

• Producer: Bobby Carter
• Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant
• Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
• Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Kara Body, Sofia Seidel
• Audio Assistant: Kwesi Lee
• Manufacturing Assistant: Zayrha Rodriguez
• Photographer: Michael Zamora
• Tiny Desk Staff: Suraya Mohamed, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer
• VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
• Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann