celebrates new record Through New Reality
little dragon
MUSIC
WORDS BY M.K. KOSZYCKI The album was done, the tour was announced and audiences were given a sneak peek of what was to come with lead singles. Everything was in place for the beloved Swedish band Little Dragon to release their sixth studio album in April. Then, as we all know, the whole world turned upside down. No artist has been immune to the effects of Covid-19, but a previously slated album release date and tour landing smack in the middle of a pandemic (March 27, to be exact) was unprecedented for this band of 24 years. The band had played three dates, including their hometown of Gothenburg, before drummer Erik Bodin says borders started to close and they realized they were on the brink of having to halt their whole tour. He says they made the decision to pack up, head home and prepare for an isolation period along with the majority of the world. “It’s very strange, I must say,” Bodin says of cutting a tour short for such unfamiliar reasons. “We were so hyped up, we were well rehearsed, and at the few dates that we managed 32 | MAY 2020
to do, we felt like, ‘Wow, this is gonna take off,’ and were super excited.” The band felt torn between wanting to continue their shows and wanting to go home and be safe. “[We were] also thinking, ‘Oh, damn,’ you know? We are trying to be as safe as we can, but now we have a lot of free time to make more music.” But as far as the album that just came out, New Me, Same Us, the band has much to be proud of. Formed in 1996, it’s quite a feat to just stay a band as long as Little Dragon has, but to gain and keep acclaim and a fervent fanbase (read: two sold-out, jam-packed nights at our own late, great Rock & Roll Hotel in 2018) as well. And though they’ve been together for quite some time, Bodin humbly notes that this album finally gave way to the group being able to sit back and really reflect on what they’ve created, with New Me, Same Us and over the years. “It’s rare that you come straight out of the whole process of making an album still wanting to listen to it. I feel like we’ve
L to R. Grik Bodin, Yukimi Nagano, Frederik Wallin, Håkan Wirenstrand. Photo by Ellen Edmar.
