When it comes to forays into the mainstream, the third time often seems to be the charm for indie bands. With two critically acclaimed albums under their belt, Arcade Fire stole the Best Album Grammy away from the likes of Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber for their third effort, “The Suburbs.” Kings of Leon sold millions of records once they started singing about sex on fire and delivering stadium-ready hooks on their third album. Consequently, one may be inclined to expect a commercial contender from the third offering of the Swedish quartet Little Dragon.

Certainly in the past few years, Little Dragon has been rubbing shoulders with establishment names, guest starring on Gorillaz’ “Plastic Beach” and Raphael Saadiq’s “Stone Rollin'” as well as attracting attention from the likes of Big Boi (of the hip-hop duo Outkast) and the Roots’ ?uestlove. They have perfomed with Gorillaz on Letterman and in their own right, promoting Ritual Union, on Jimmy Fallon’s show. Of course in heightening their profile, it helps that the band’s frontwoman, Swedish-Japanese-American Yukimi Nagano, is something of an emerging fashion icon.

So it seems that all the guns have been lined up to shoot Little Dragon into stardom. In many respects, “Ritual Union” is a natural progression from their two previous albums. From their eponymous debut (2007), a sprawling, playful record putting a new spin on soul, R&B and jazz, to 2009’s “Machine Dreams” which explored an accessible yet dreamy, psychedelic variant of electronica, it is with this year’s “Ritual Union” that Little Dragon emerges as an indie electro-pop group. However, putting a label on Little Dragon is virtually impossible. It is also one of the group’s greatest strengths; although they have memorable melodies to spare, they really sound like no other outfit out there.

Yet “Ritual Union” is not quite the killer I had hoped for. Like its predecessor, “Machine Dreams,” the album is musically eclectic – a successful mishmash of pop, soul, electronica, UK garage even – yet it is committed to keyboard wizard Håkan Wirenstrand’s utterly ingenious bleeps and crystal-synths throughout, eschewing the intermittent organic instrumentation of their debut. Still, the album feels restrained somehow.

They do get off to a great start; opener and title track “Ritual Union” is as tight and affecting as any song they have ever written. Singer Nagano questions the viability of marriage in her yearning and despairing vocals while an insistent bass line pushes on, accompanied by odd futuristic sweeps. Even better is “Shuffle A Beat” which sounds like the offspring of a happy union between Prince and Goldfrapp as several catchy glam-pop synth-riffs compete for the listener’s attention.

Other highlights include “Brush the Heat” with its propulsive UK garage-inspired beat as well as “Crystalfilm”, a track that takes you on a trance-like sound trip, and “Nightlight,” which manages to create some funk despite beginning with a keyboard riff that sounds like it belongs in a bad 1980’s Bollywood movie.

Unfortunately, “Ritual Union” is fairly front-heavy. After “Nightlight,” Little Dragon seems to lose momentum and the album fizzles out with a trilogy of forgettable, repetitive tracks. However, this should not be taken as an indicator that the band has sold out. Little Dragon has not begun to think solely in terms of radio-friendly singles or abandoned their wish to create the cohesive, consistently excellent album.

Instead of completely discarding their idiosyncratic sound in favor of something more accessible, the group has merely streamlined their sound, deciding on a thoroughly electronic, accessible approach to R&B and soul. Yet that has also left no room for diversions; no truly affecting, somber ballads like “Twice”, released on “Little Dragon,” and no truly exuberant disco-funk drum solos as in “Runabout,” a standout from their second album.

“Ritual Union” stores a handful of sophisticated digital soul songs that will undoubtedly win Little Dragon many new fans, yet it is also a record that may fall short of the expectations of old ones. For the uninitiated, “Ritual Union” is no bad place to begin.