Contentment surrounds Nao’s fourth album, ‘Jupiter’, aptly named after the planet of growth and joy. The record captures the angel-voiced singer returning to centre after a period of tumult surrounding her last two albums, 2018’s ‘Saturn’ and 2021’s ‘And Then Life Was Beautiful’. While those projects weren’t gloomy by any means – Nao’s otherworldly voice imbues much of her work with warmth and radiance – there was always an underlying sense that the singer hadn’t quite reached her destination yet.
‘Jupiter’, then, is the star stepping into the light at the end of that tunnel, claiming inner peace and happiness after having taken space for herself. From the funky, energetic opener ‘Wildflowers’, the record radiates confidence and joy in every corner. That even extends to the tracklist. Coming in at a concise 11 tracks over 33 minutes – notably shorter than anything she’s released before – and, for the first time, without the help of any features, the record is almost a symbol of Nao standing strong in herself.
But don’t let the short runtime fool you – ‘Jupiter’ is musically as diverse as Nao has ever been. Both sonically and emotionally, the singer fluidly goes from delicious electric guitar solos (‘Elevate’) to sensual, silky R&B (‘Just Dive’) to introspective ballads (‘30 Something’). She even returns to the electronic-leaning “wonky funk” that defined her earlier work – albeit just a sprinkling of it – on tracks such as ‘Jupiter’ and ‘All Of Me’.
Nothing, though, quite cuts to the heart of the album as the gorgeous ‘Light Years’. While still tethered to what came before, the song is Nao coming to terms with the way life goes and finding peace in that. There are some things she just can’t change (“Gravity won’t let go of me”), but what she can alter is the way she looks at living (“If you and I could have it all / Then I would wait a thousand years for you”). If ‘Jupiter’ is the gentler spiritual successor to ‘Saturn’, then ‘Light Years’ is the happy end to that album’s ‘Orbit’.
Much like the planet it’s named after, ‘Jupiter’ hangs overhead like a soft, guiding light in the night sky, providing joy and wisdom to those who care to seek it out. For Nao, it’s also a representation of the growth (and heartache and pain) she’s pushed through in the decade since her debut and how she’s come out the other side, lighter, warmer and happier – but just as brilliant.
Details
- Release date: February 21, 2025
- Record label: RCA / Little Tokyo