Nao Takes Us To Jupiter With Her Fourth Studio Album

After a long gap between albums, it’s always that little bit more intriguing to see how things will sound when an artist returns. Will they move you in the same way as they used to? Do they still possess that special something that made you fall in love with their music in the first place? Basically; will it still hit the same?

I can imagine the artists are probably asking themselves some of these questions too. It must be nerve-wracking, particularly when so much has changed in the intermission. I spoke to Nao just before Christmas for the cover of New Wave Magazine’s Substance Issue (Available to purchase from our website), and among the many revelations bestowed by Nao, the theme of change and growth stood out the most. 

Jupiter - the title of her 4th album - embodies that theme to a tee. ‘30 Something’ perhaps hits that most on the nose, as Nao cathartically explores her passage into the decade in which many find discomfort in ageing, and she has found the opposite. In recently becoming a mother for the second time, and embracing all the changes in her life, Nao sings joyfully about her age and all that comes with it. 

Another key topic for Nao at this moment seems to be love. I find this best embodied by ‘Wildflowers’, in which we hear lyrics such as “So if you really love me, then say you love me till the end of time”. This has stuck with me since the track was first released as a single last year, and it stands out as an exquisite way to begin the project. Nao’s voice has always been uniquely special - the rarest of gems. With a voice like Nao’s, the idea of a voice being its own instrument becomes abundantly clear. It’s something that shall always set her apart, and put her into that category of generational - she simply has one of the most special voices out of any of her contemporaries. 

Exhibited excellently across ‘We All Win’, and ‘Happy People’, as we tumble through the songs in Jupiter, the album's truest meaning becomes clearer and clearer. Brimming with deeper meaning at every turn, there’s planetary symbolism all over this project. As Nao first told us back in 2024, “the spiritual meaning of Jupiter is it’s the planet of joy”, and joy is this album’s guiding light, as seen in ‘Elevate’, ‘Just Dive’, and ‘All Of Me’. In Nao’s previous work there were similar levels of self-discovery, but in Jupiter, all discovery remains centred around an immense joy that Nao feels for life. This is a sorely needed centre point for an album in 2025, and in Jupiter the concept of joy has fully been done justice. 

So, to answer our original questions, Nao continues to hold her place in the gold standard of UK artistry, and nothing of what we originally loved has been lost. She’s gone from strength-to-strength, embraced growth and joy, and created a wonderful album to embody those concepts. Now embarking on tour across the UK, Europe and the US, fans are able to witness Nao’s artistry in all its glory - something we couldn’t recommend highly enough. 

Check out New Wave Magazine’s Nao cover shoot here

Buy tickets for Nao’s tour here 

Check out Jupiter in full below: