THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Little Dragon are a much-loved, Grammy-nominated Swedish band consisting of school friends Erik Bodin (drums and percussion), Fredrik Wallin (bass), Håkan Wirenstarnd (keyboards) and Yukimi Nagano (vocals). Recorded in the musical oasis of their Gothenburg Studio (where they have worked for almost 20 years) Slugs Of Love brings their distinctive blend of soulful pop, electronics and R&B — all underpinned by Yukimi’s instantly recognisable vocals — to 11 tracks that encapsulate the full range of their influences.
“We’ve been exploring different ways to collaborate and communicate,” they say. “Dissolving patterns and making new ones. Nurturing our ability to curiously press down keys, to bang — sometimes hard sometimes gently — on different things, strumming strings, recording sounds and investigating the limits for how much or little a sound can be tweaked… Together we have developed, replayed, danced to, cried and laughed to this music as it has evolved forwards, backwards, sideways and all around, but now finally as a complete masterpiece… This feels like our finest work yet. We are very proud.”
The record features a guest turn from Damon Albarn (Gorillaz, Blur, etc.) on Glow, a “slow dripping glittery ride to a daydream in wonderland” and a collaboration with respected East Atlanta rapper JID (signed to J. Cole’s Dreamville label) on the previously released single Stay, a song which charts the ups and downs of a relationship.
They are the latest in the band’s long history of high-profile collaborations with artists such as Kali Uchis, Kaytranada, Brittany Howard, Flying Lotus, BadBadNotGood, Moses Sumney, Kelsey Lu, Gorillaz, Big Boi of OutKast, SBTRKT, Yo-Yo Ma and many more. They count the likes of SZA, Erykah Badu, Anderson .Paak, Diplo, Flume, Ava DuVerney, Ali Wong, Syd, Disclosure, LaKeith Stanfield, The xx and more as fans, a further attestation to their status as one of the more influential bands of their era.
The album also contains the previously released titular single Slugs Of Love — a joyous, upbeat track which the band say they imagine “being played by a bunch of youngsters with rubber boots in different sparkling colors” — which arrived alongside a video also directed by Unlimited Time Only. Elsewhere, the uplifting Tumbling Dice urges the listener to savour the time they have, offering “cheers for this moment, for this life” and a reminder to “celebrate every breath, we will be gone in a flash.” Meanwhile, Gold is “a reflection on the riches that money can’t buy” — and a track that refracts pop hits of the ’90s and ’00s, with a Whitney Houston-channeling refrain atop a sluggish, synth heavy groove.
Their previous full-length album, ‘New Me, Same Us’, was released in 2020 and lauded globally. Entirely self-produced and recorded at the band’s studio, the album hit No. 5 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart in the U.S. They followed up with their New Me, Same Us Remix EP, which featured the likes of Midland, Octo Octa, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Ela Minus and many more.”
