Customer Reviews

Machine Dreams

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Little Dragon is one of the best little bands around right now. Machine Dreams is more upbeat than the debut and reaches back to some of the best 80s sounds for inspiration, yet also feels futuristic and sci-fi, sounding like nothing else out there. Yukimi Nagano's soulful voice is the star here and she is ably assisted by three fine musicians. You must see this band's excellent live show to understand that as good as this album is, it is mostly an outline of the even more electrifying live versions of the tracks. I can't get enough of "Feather".

Little Dragon offers an interesting mix of electronic music that is supported with a dance beat but is still deeply rooted in pop structures. This combination is what makes this quartet from Gothenburg, Sweden stick out, as they present what seems like a complex sophomore outing in Machine Dreams, but in reality, it is a record that comes off very smooth. It is an easy and entertaining listen that has nice transitions from track to track and consistently will have you tapping your feet. At times, the female fronted band can be as poppy and beat heavy as Luscious Jackson but maintains a more atmospheric Sigur Rós vibe around every corner. Little Dragon is a group that needs repeat listens before you get the entire picture and Machine Dreams only perfects the sound they started on their debut and is well worth taking a listen.

The emphasis on atmosphere is made clear from the very start of Machine Dreams, as album opener "A New" begins and ends with electronic drones, as if to bracket the song in ellipses like an unfinished thought. The subsequent song, "Looking Glass", is firmer, more beat-driven, but as much as its groove is steady, as a whole it seems to wander. Motion and physicality is strongly implied by the rhythm, but the leisurely pace and subtly shifting keyboard tones indicate changes in setting, evoking a sense that we're stumbling around lost in some strange, beautiful city. This sets the tone for the rest of the album, which goes off on the tangents of different rhythms into other textural zones, but maintains a feeling of searching around for something, whether it is a person, a destination, a state of mind, or the right words to express some ineffable thought.

Little Dragon's palette is broad enough to lend the album a rich, luscious sound, but specific enough to ground the work in a particular time and place, though the definition of both terms is left to the listener's imagination. Some of the songs, like "Looking Glass" and "My Step", sound like a 1980s version of the future, and owe a debt to the keyboard aesthetics of freestyle and Prince circa Sign 'O' the Times. Others, like the gorgeous ballad "Feather" and the claustrophobic "Thunder Love", bring to mind the dystopian sexiness of Tricky's early classics on Maxinquaye and Pre-Millennium Tension. Yukimi Nagano, the band's charismatic Swedish-Japanese vocalist, has a smokey yet agile voice, and it serves as the anchor of each song. She avoids melisma, but her phrasing is in the general wheelhouse of modern R&B, particularly British iterations of the genre. As with every other element of their sound, Nagano's voice places Little Dragon's music in a lineage of recognizable influences under a vague "urban" umbrella, but it all comes out just a bit off, which is to say, unexpected and original.

Machine Dreams is at once familiar and slightly alien, and the emotional center is both intuitively obvious and intentionally vague. Nagano is the type of writer and singer who lets her words roughly sketch out a feeling that she embellishes with her voice. This approach puts more faith in the unique effects of music-- there is no sense in being direct and literal when singing can convey the sort of nuance that is almost impossible to express in other forms of communication. The album falters slightly when the music becomes more abstract and inscrutable, but on the whole it is not difficult to relate to Nagano or slip into the mood created by her bandmates. That mood is slippery and hard to define, but that's not so much a problem as it is part of the appeal, as the band navigate the strange spaces between big, easily identifiable emotions.
According to vocalist Yukimi Nagano, "these days, humans seem more and more like machines, and as technology evolves, machines feel more human and it becomes fuzzy and beautiful and science fiction-ish. We feel dependent on our machines to create and live, and their sounds reflect us". So we guess you can expect a movement towards a more electronic sound.

This is a must have. I love it. I've been loving Little Dragon for a while now. Their music is produced with so much emotion and integrity. This is a little more upbeat almost Nu Disco then the last release. That's fine because they do it well.

To be honest, the first time I listened to Machine Dreams I wasn't impressed. Nothing really seemed to hit me right away. But after the 2nd and 3rd listen I got the know the songs a bit more, and the songs had a way of getting under my skin. I've been playing Machine Dreams every day in its entirety for about 10 days now, and I'm still excited to play this album when I come home.

I think the reason the songs of Machine Head don't hit you right away is because of Little Dragon's sparse sound, which seems to emphasize rhythms over melody. But here's the thing, when you get to know the songs a little bit, you'll hear the melodies in the singing and even more and more in the song. Point being, Little Dragon simply isn't about putting a ten-ton hook over your head in the first second of the song. So, in a way, they're almost challenging the listener to stay with them, and I think that challenge is definitely worth taking.

The sound is slightly more polished than their debut album. Also, there are more upbeat tracks here, and they are really good. Check out Looking Glass, Never Never and Runabout: those are great songs, just addictive really. If Little Dragon came on your radar because of the hauntingly beautiful song Twice, you'll find some similar relaxed tracks as well. But for me, its the upbeat tracks that show that Little Dragon have simply become a better, tighter band since their first album.

Can't wait to see them when they play where I live next month, it's gonna a fun show.

This album perfects rhythm. I can not see anyone not being able to get lost in the music while its being played. It's the perfect album to open up to 2010 with. You will get a futuristic taste and be able to "feel" it a little more than their previous album, might I add this alum is more than a step up from their last as well.

Many can enjoy the music, for being so deranged its very diverse. It's songs consist of mellow beats and beats that make you wanna dance! haha just kidding. but seriously.

I can literally play it from the first track and let it run without skipping any. That's how cool it is. My cousin also worked out to this ish!

I first purchased Little Dragon's next album, "Ritual Union," and loved it (see my review). I know I am listening to LD's albums in reverse order, and I am happy that I am. The heavy synthesizer sound of "RU" is not heard as strongly in this album. There is more of the traditional Japanese sounding music (I'm talking folk music) fused with simple, minimalistic lyrics and Nagano's wonderful voice. Outstanding! I almost wish that her 2 songs she did vocals for with Gorillaz were included (Yes, I bought "Plastic Beach" specifically for her songs!). I truly believe that this album is superior to "RU," of which I gave also gave a 5-star review. Next I am purchasing the debut, self-titled album.

I bought this album awhile back after hearing this woman's voice on Gorillaz Empire Ants. Excellent album. Jazzy, indie-ish, some electronic... rhythmic. Her voice is gorgeous, both on the album and live.

I hear they are coming out with a new album in June or July. I will likely put it on pre-order.

I have been a fan of Yukimi Nagano from some of her other projects and truly enjoyed the first Little Dragon cd. So when I picked this one up, my expectations were pretty high. At first listen, I still favored the first cd, but after listening to it again, I am just IN LOVE with this cd! There are too many really strong tracks on this one and I hope they continue to put out great music like this. This gets regular rotation on my mp3 player (randomly shuffle with the first cd) and it just doesn't get old.

machine dreams is a solid recording for little dragon. "my step" is extremely catchy, and is what prompted the purchase, and true to their form, the other songs have distinct sounds that compliment, but also diversify the album as a whole. it is indeed an enjoyable listen through.

I saw em in Santa Cruz 2009. They were on fire. Amazing. Live set on KCRW the same week was great, but in person they are gorgeous. SHE is gorgeous. I agree with the previous reviewer who thought the album's performances were like sketches for the live show. The way she builds emotion and tension with her voice in a live environment is amazing. So much soul and sexuality and sensuality. The lyrics take you one place, the music another, and they harmonize together to bring you to a wonderful level where the groove infiltrates your limbs and you end up dancing whether you suck at it or not. Either way it's beautiful. I hope they go to Coachella 2010. They deserve to be on the Main-stage one night, but there's no shame in filling up a tent.