Ritual Union

Ritual Union
Studio album by Little Dragon
Released 21 July 2011 (2011-07-21)
Recorded 2009–11
Genre Synthpop, trip hop, soul
Length 43:24
Label Peacefrog
Producer Little Dragon
Little Dragon chronology
Machine Dreams
(2009)		 Ritual Union
(2011)
Singles from Ritual Union
  1. "Nightlight"
    Released: 12 April 2011
  2. "Ritual Union"
    Released: 20 June 2011
  3. "Precious"
    Released: 2011
  4. "Shuffle a Dream"
    Released: 2011
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic (77/100)[1]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
BBC Music (favourable)[3]
Clash (8/10)[4]
The Daily Telegraph [5]
The Guardian [6]
The Independent [7]
NME (7/10)[8]
Pitchfork Media (6.7/10)[9]
Rolling Stone [10]
Spin (7/10)[11]

Ritual Union is the third studio album by Swedish electronic band Little Dragon. It was released on 25 July 2011 by Peacefrog Records. The album debuted at number twenty-two on the UK Albums Chart and number seventy-eight on the US Billboard 200, their highest-charting album to date. The album's second single, "Ritual Union", reached number seventy-six on the UK Singles Chart. Upon its release, Ritual Union received generally positive reviews from most music critics. The song "Shuffle a Dream" was featured in the fifth season premiere episode of Gossip Girl, "Yes, Then Zero", originally aired 26 September 2011.[12] Uncut placed the album at number 37 on its list of "Top 50 albums of 2011".[13]

Contents

Album cover

The album cover features a montage of newly married couples. Those photographed are rumoured to be family members of those within the band.[14]

Music videos

An animated video was released for "When I Go Out". Little Dragon's official Twitter page posted, "Our -When I Go Out video is By Italian artist Emanuel Kabu! Love all his work! psychedelic breeze...surreal iz the new normal!"[15]

Preview

"Nightlight" was released on 25 March 2011 as a streaming single, accompanying a press release. "Ritual Union" was played on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon days previous to this, while "Little Man" and "Summertearz" were previewed throughout Little Dragon's 2010 and 2011 touring.

Track listing

All songs written by Little Dragon.

  1. "Ritual Union" – 3:30
  2. "Little Man" – 2:41
  3. "Brush the Heat" – 4:10
  4. "Shuffle a Dream" – 2:58
  5. "Please Turn" – 3:34
  6. "Crystalfilm" – 4:49
  7. "Precious" – 3:51
  8. "Nightlight" – 3:25
  9. "Summertearz" – 3:50
  10. "When I Go Out" – 5:59
  11. "Seconds" – 4:30

Charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[16] 91
Swedish Albums Chart[17] 47
UK Albums Chart[18] 22
US Billboard 200[19] 78
US Dance/Electronic Albums[20] 4
US Independent Albums[21] 12

Release history

Country Date Label
Netherlands[22] 21 July 2011 Century Media Records
Germany[23] 22 July 2011 Peacefrog Records
Ireland[24]
United Kingdom[25] 25 July 2011
United States[26] 26 July 2011
Sweden[27] 27 July 2011
Australia[28] 29 July 2011
France[29] 5 September 2011 EMI

References

  1. ^ "Ritual Union – Little Dragon". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. http://www.metacritic.com/music/ritual-union. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  2. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Ritual Union – Little Dragon – Review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/ritual-union-r2219132/review. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  3. ^ Younis, Reef (13 July 2011). "Review of Little Dragon – Ritual Union". BBC Music. BBC Online. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/jq9p. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  4. ^ Younis, Reef (25 July 2011). "Little Dragon – 'Ritual Union'". Clash. http://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/little-dragon-ritual-union. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  5. ^ Perry, Andrew (21 July 2011). "Little Dragon: Ritual Union, CD review". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/cdreviews/8651965/Little-Dragon-Ritual-Union-CD-review.html. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  6. ^ Costa, Maddy (14 July 2011). "Little Dragon: Ritual Union – review". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jul/14/little-dragons-ritual-union-review. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  7. ^ Gill, Andy (22 July 2011). "Album: Little Dragon, Ritual Union (Peace Frog)". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-little-dragon-ritual-union-peace-frog-2318174.html. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  8. ^ Martin, Dan (12 July 2011). "Album Review: Little Dragon – 'Ritual Union'". NME. IPC Media. http://www.nme.com/reviews/little-dragon/12205. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  9. ^ Perpetua, Matthew (26 July 2011). "Little Dragon: Ritual Union". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15672-ritual-union/. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  10. ^ Hermes, Will (26 July 2011). "Ritual Union by Little Dragon". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/ritual-union-20110726. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  11. ^ Hogan, Marc. "Little Dragon, 'Ritual Union' (EMI)". Spin. Spin Media LLC. http://www.spin.com/reviews/little-dragon-ritual-union-emi. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
  12. ^ "Gossip Girl Music | Season 5 – Episode 1". The CW. http://www.cwtv.com/music/gossip-girl/season-5/episode-501. Retrieved 6 October 2011. 
  13. ^ http://stereogum.com/891311/uncuts-top-50-albums-of-2011/list
  14. ^ Breihan, Tom (25 March 2011). "Little Dragon Announce New Album". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/news/42007-little-dragon-announce-new-album/. Retrieved 28 March 2011. 
  15. ^ "Our -When I Go Out video i ...". Twitter. 22 July 2011. http://twitter.com/#!/twittledragon/status/94532600223379456. Retrieved 27 July 2011. 
  16. ^ "Chartifacts – Week Commencing: 8th August 2011". Australian Recording Industry Association. 8 August 2011. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/60oaaEttu. Retrieved 9 August 2011. 
  17. ^ "Little Dragon – Ritual Union". Swedish Recording Industry Association. Hung Medien. http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Little+Dragon&titel=Ritual+Union&cat=a. Retrieved 28 August 2011. 
  18. ^ "Little Dragon – Ritual Union". The Official Charts Company. Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=50463. Retrieved 3 August 2011. 
  19. ^ "Little Dragon Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/little-dragon/chart-history/868341?f=305&g=Albums. Retrieved 4 August 2011. 
  20. ^ "Little Dragon Album & Song Chart History – Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/little-dragon/chart-history/868341?f=322&g=Albums. Retrieved 4 August 2011. 
  21. ^ "Little Dragon Album & Song Chart History – Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/little-dragon/chart-history/868341?f=326&g=Albums. Retrieved 4 August 2011. 
  22. ^ "Ritual Union – Little Dragon" (in Dutch). Free Record Shop. http://www.freerecordshop.nl/music/ritual-union-5060100743332. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  23. ^ "Ritual Union: Little Dragon" (in German). Amazon.de. http://www.amazon.de/dp/B004W2MF6E. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  24. ^ "Little Dragon – Ritual Union". Tower Records Ireland. http://www.towerrecords.ie/product/Little_Dragon_Ritual_Union/522659. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  25. ^ "Little Dragon: Ritual Union". HMV. http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;1;-1;-1;-1&sku=125307. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  26. ^ "Ritual Union: Little Dragon". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W2MF6E. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  27. ^ "Ritual Union – Little Dragon" (in Swedish). CDON.se. http://cdon.se/musik/little_dragon/ritual_union-14735497. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  28. ^ "Ritual Union – Little Dragon". JB Hi-Fi. http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/music/pop-rock/ritual-union/652155. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
  29. ^ "Ritual Union: Little Dragon" (in French). Amazon.fr. http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B004W2MF6E. Retrieved 13 August 2011. 
Little Dragon
Yukimi Nagano · Erik Bodin · Fredrik Källgren Wallin · Håkan Wirenstrand
Albums
Little Dragon (2007) · Machine Dreams (2009) · Ritual Union (2011)
Singles
"Twice/Test" (7" vinyl) · "Constant Surprises" (7" vinyl) · "Recommendation" (iTunes release) · "Fortune"/"Blinking Pigs"  · "Feather"/"Stranger" (iTunes release) · "Nightlight"
Collaborators
Labels
Off The Wall · Peacefrog · JVC Victor