“London are you there?” Yukimi Nagano asked the energetic crowd at a packed out KOKO in Camden on Thursday night, draped in a neon yellow jacket. The lead vocalist of Little Dragon was met with a rapturous roar, setting the tone for what was an electric performance from the Swedish four-piece.
The Gothenburg band, consisting of Nagano, Erik Bodin, Fredrik Wallin and Håkan Wirenstrand, have been working together since 1996, and with a total of six albums to their name, they already had more than enough material to sustain a show, despite having no new releases since 2020.
With no new album to promote, it became clear Little Dragon were here fully intent on having a good time. Despite coming on stage to a screeching microphone glitch, the band swept past this momentary bump in the road, performing with the fluency of a group nearing three decades in the industry.
The band launched into proceedings with two tracks from their latest New Me, Same Us album — Another Lover, followed by the infectious disco-inspired Hold On, both met with a rapturous response. The crowd’s energy levels were rising and rising, and after that didn’t let up for the rest of the night.
The set was as eccentric as their back catalogue, with the bold staging reminiscent of a UV paint party, matched with a colourful strobe light display. Accompanied by their melodic, synth-heavy tracks, the band took the crowd on what felt like a one-hour acid trip.
The setlist spanned all six previous albums, even taking fans back to their 2007 debut with the track Time, which they acknowledged would be one for the die-hards among the crowd.
Of course, it was the better-known tracks that really captured the imagination of the crowd – hits like Ritual Union and Where You Belong, which provided one of the slower, more emotional moments of the night, with a sea of iPhones inevitably held up as it played out. Wildfire, a collaboration with SBTRKT, was one of the highlights, sending fans into overdrive, singing along word for word and dancing vigorously around the iconic Camden venue.
The band were clearly in their element, letting loose – and the audience was appreciative, with Wirenstrand’s unexpected searing keyboard solo, following their performance of track Klapp Klapp from their Grammy-nominated Nabuma Rubberband album, which reverberated around the venue, and was met with loud cheers.
Yukimi Nagano told fans “London is a vibe, always will be.” It’s clear the band’s affection for the capital was reciprocated.
