Elliphant are responsible for two of the brattiest, most infectious, and plain rudest singles of the year in "Tekkno Scene" and "Ciant Hear It", but the Swedish producer/singer/enigma's forthcoming self-titled EP shows off a faint smidge of softness. "Down on Life" is hardly a How to Dress Well cut, but it's not asking you to stick a finger up your bum either; instead, it's the kind of disenchanted, dancehall-leaning slow jam that would arguably have pepped up and fit on the lackluster new Rihanna album. "I need you to take all of my shadows for a walk tonight," asks Elli, sounding both aggressive and vulnerable as the rhythm shifts from dub to needling sonar pips and back again. It won't come as a surprise to learn that Elliphant share producers and management with Icona Pop and Niki and the Dove, a new trinity of paradigm-shifting Swedish electro pop.

[The Elliphant EP is out on January 14 via A Bigger Splash]