On her debut EP, 2014’s So Good, London singer-songwriter Nao led with a juicy revelation: the record's first single doubled as our introduction to A. K. Paul, Jai’s equally elusive brother. A. K. was revealed to have had a hand in some of his bro’s best tracks, writing and playing on "Jasmine" as well as contributing the unforgettable vocals on the "BTSTU (Edit)" demo. Paul's contribution was an intriguing development, to be sure, but the news of his involvement threatened to overshadow the spectacular talent of Nao in her own right. The Hackney native seemed to emerge fully-formed, with an arresting, lean-muscled falsetto and a spiritual connection with turn-of-the-millennium R&B and soul, the kind of bond you only have with the music of your young teenage years. And while the EP’s introductory collaboration was charming in its Paul-isms—the brothers’ trademark diaphanous, multi-layered synth collage work—the following four tracks were even better, peaking with stunning closer "Adore You", a graceful midtempo glide that felt like an answer to Miguel’s instant classic "Adorn".
There’s no word yet as to whether either Paul brother is involved with Nao’s second release, the five-track February 15 EP, but the stylistic overlap is still there. All excel at recontextualizing their '90s-leaning influences into something that feels fresh and not too on-the-nose; their old souls are self-evident without devolving into Instagram-filter-retro wedding playlist pastiche à la "Uptown Funk" or "Blurred Lines". There’s a significant distinction between Nao’s work and the Pauls’, though. In the brothers’ collaborations, the visible seams are a part of the appeal, emphasizing the individual parts of the busy, loose patchwork. On February 15, Nao plays with just as many disparate influences—purple-hued funk, smoky neo-soul, muted washes of dubstep and other UK bass permutations, the faint pulse of deep house—but integrates them so seamlessly that the stylistic breadth barely registers.
The So Good EP kept a brisk, grown-and-sexy steppers’ pace, its midtempo strut gesturing back towards acts like Groove Theory, 702, and Zhané, or even Missy Elliott in slinky "Pussycat" mode. On February 15, Nao delves into the neo-soul movement of the same time period, her stride taking on a bit of a hiccupping pimp step as house influences give way to straight funk. "Inhale Exhale" and "Zillionaire" are pure Soulquarian homage, but Nao shakes the dust off with idiosyncratic, slightly abstracted percussion that seems to have a gently rebellious will of its own.
When we think about the sounds and aesthetics of the late '90s and early '00s, the most immediate images are the Y2K retrofuturism of so much R&B, pop, and rap of that time—the wide-eyed and imaginative embrace of these idealistic, spacey digital aesthetics. Think of the cavernous, glossy, white and metallic digitally-rendered chambers that served as backdrops for Janet Jackson or Blaque videos. This utopian vision made sense in an era where people were still wrapping their minds around the baffling expanse of the Internet. On this EP, Nao deals in what feels like the converse of these aesthetics: Instead of constructing idealistic projections of the future, she seems to prefer a nostalgic, tender vision of the not-so-distant past, assembled with shiny new tools and contextualized by the world we live in now.
But the main draw of the EP is Nao’s vocals, rich and subtle and instinctually aware of when to dial it down and when to let her upper register flex its full strength. She has an imaginative yet piercingly simple way with words; her lyrics are unembellished but specific, stirring in their directness like an unexpectedly moving still-life painting. Her calm micro-narratives are rendered in dazzling hi-def and zoomed in to minute details like a "Planet Earth" freeze-frame, often focusing on the self-evident lushness of nature: images of fruits and changing seasons and rich jewel tones. "Your silver hair, your red and checked shirt, buttoned to your apple," she sings, soaking in her partner on closing track "It’s You", capturing the essence of a quiet moment in one calm, precise stroke.
