This album has been doing wonders since it dropped and it's only been a couple of months. She's just finished supporting Ms. Lauryn Hill at Wembley Arena this weekend and now soaring in at my number 12 spot is Nao with Saturn.
The first time that I heard about Nao I was on my way to see Little Dragon for the first time four years ago and had no idea what to expect until I saw it with my own eyes. Almost instantly I could see that there was something special in Nao. However, looking at her album now and realising how much she's grown since then and how much potential she still has; I might even have underestimated her initially. It's only been a couple of years since her debut record and she's already improved leaps and bounds - not only vocally but also with production and DJ-ing. She's even launched her own record label since then.
Tracks that shine through for me right now are "Another Lifetime", "Make It Out Alive (feat. SiR)", "Saturn (feat. Kwabs)", and "Drive And Disconnect". I still remember exactly how I felt and exactly what I was doing the first time I listened to these songs. Being able to hold a presence in any moment in time is so important for a great piece of music and Nao's been able to do this with an entire record. I'm almost embarrassed that I continue to be surprised by how good Nao is.
Overall as an album I feel like it trumps her debut For All We Know, particularly in aspects such as production and song selection. However, I feel like the songs that stood out to me on FAWK like "Blue Wine" and "Bad Blood", rest in my mind with a little more weight than the stand-out tracks on Saturn. Nao's star has risen quickly over the past year and I don't see it slowing down any time soon. I am abundantly happy for her success with this, and can't fault her getting credit where credit is clearly due.
Have a look at what other UK songstress took the number 12 spot in 2017 here. Funnily enough it also included a feature from Kwabs.
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