Nao‘s criminally underrated vocals would’ve fit right in with the synth-heavy jams of ’80’s R&B. Gifted with a voice that is distinctive and arresting, the British singer-songwriter has crafted a number of tailor-made slow grooves for late nights, cruising by your lonesome down a major stretch of highway or pitching woo to the love you truly want. Most of this fell right in line with her 2016 debut For All We Know, which we hailed as the year’s best R&B album.
“Nostalgia,” her latest effort bounces off the walls with slinky synth arrangements and her voice cascading off spastic drum programming. “Ain’t nobody better than you,” she sings. “It’s just the way nostalgia makes me feel.”
“I’m in hiding writing my next album but I’m gonna drop some new music for you in the meantime whilst we wait, starting this Friday,” she wrote on Twitter in anticipation of “Nostalgia.” In the interim, For All We Know has only grown on more people, securing a a remix EP featuring Kaytranada, SBTRKT and more.
Expect Nao’s profile to rise even more in the latter stages of 2017. Her “Feels Like” single, which was the closer to For All We Know got spotlighted on HBO’s hit-series Insecure and also appears on the soundtrack for the show’s R&B driven second season along with Lion Babe, Jorja Smith, SZA, Bryson Tiller and Jazmine Sullivan.
Take in a little “Nostalgia” from the Brit avant-R&B singer below.
