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Nao: Jupiter review – an upbeat, welcome return

After time away, the homegrown R&B star’s ethereal voice shines equally on uptempo tracks and slower grooves

Since her 2016 debut, For All We Know, London singer-songwriter Neo Jessica Joshua, AKA Nao, has made gossamer-light R&B that soars on the power of her distinctive high-lying voice. Grammy award- and Mercury prize-nominated for her electronic-influenced second album, Saturn(2018),and finding joy post-Covid on 2021’s acoustic-leaning And Then Life Was Beautiful, Nao’s output in the four years since has slowed after a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome. Wildflowers sets the tone with its sprightly bass line and interlocking drum groove that anchors Joshua’s earworming melody about a yearning romance.

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