Album: Little Dragon, Ritual Union (Peace Frog)

Collaborations with Gorillaz and Big Boi have made the Swedish quartet Little Dragon one of the more intriguing new prospects, arousing an interest which the piquant electro-soul stylings of Ritual Union more than bear out.

Intimate but infectious tracks like the spindly "Seconds" and "Little Man" are what I always hoped Hot Chip would sound like: toytown electropop with a sultry, secretive air, courtesy of Yukimi Nagano's bewitching vocal. Languidly emotive over the undulating synth of "Please Turn", or charmingly falsetto in the stealthy soul daydream of "Ritual Union" itself, she's surely destined to become one of the voices of the year, while her accomplices' subtle confections of minimal electro throbs and stripped-back beats has an alluring simplicity that's like a refreshing, palate-cleansing sorbet.

DOWNLOAD THIS: Ritual Union; Little Man; Brush the Heat; Crystalfilm; Seconds