nao Jupiter
Released Feb 21, 2025 RCA Records Label
Established consensus 7 professional reviews Updated Oct 15, 2026
Broadly positive consensus
NAO's Jupiter makes a persuasive case for optimism without disguising the vulnerability beneath it.
How ChoruScore worksCritics' Top Tracks
The songs critics returned to most
Elevate
3 critic mentions
“Elevate captures a rhapsodic episode of swimming through the cosmos” — The Skinny
Light Years
3 critic mentions
“Nothing, though, quite cuts to the heart of the album as the gorgeous ‘Light Years’.” — New Musical Express (NME)
Wildflowers
3 critic mentions
“From the funky, energetic opener ‘Wildflowers’, the record radiates confidence and joy in every corner.” — New Musical Express (NME)
Full critic consensus
NAO's Jupiter makes a persuasive case for optimism without disguising the vulnerability beneath it. Across seven professional reviews, the album earns a 76.29/100 consensus score, with critics welcoming a warm, self-assured return shaped by personal growth, gratitude, and a hard-won sense of peace. Funky, nocturnal grooves and expansive choruses give its reflections lift, while NAO's sensitive vocals keep the songs intimate rather than merely triumphant.
The best songs on Jupiter balance buoyancy with emotional depth. “Elevate” is a recurring highlight: critics praise its rhapsodic funk and guitar-led energy, while another review points to its slow-burn groove and emotive crescendo. “Light Years” also stands out across reviews, offering a reflective moment of acceptance that one critic describes as the album's emotional heart. “Wildflowers” brings sprightly bass and an earworm melody, setting a joyful tone, while “Happy People” and “We All Win” provide brighter, anthemic bursts. Together, these tracks show how the record moves between exuberance and introspection.
The critical consensus is affectionate but not unqualified: reviewers emphasize the album's sincerity, craft, and optimistic return, especially when its slower songs make room for feeling. Its strongest moments find NAO turning vulnerability into connection and contentment, with funk and layered vocals adding color to that journey. For anyone asking whether Jupiter is worth hearing, the reviews point to a rewarding, warmly voiced collection whose standout tracks make its case clear.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Wildflowers
Elevate
Happy People
Light Years
We All Win
Poolside
30 Something
Just Dive
Jupiter
All Of Me
Better Days
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 7 critics who reviewed this album
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Critic's Take
nao’s Jupiter feels like a welcome, optimistic return, led by sprightly moments and nocturnal slow-burners. The review singles out “Wildflowers” for its sprightly bass and earworming melody, while uptempo cuts like “We All Win” and “Happy People” lift into anthemic choruses. Yet the reviewer insists it is the slower tracks - notably “Elevate” and “Light Years” - where Joshua truly shines, sinking into nocturnal grooves and erupting into emotive crescendos. Overall the tone is affectionate and measured, pitching these as the best tracks on Jupiter because they reveal both craft and feeling.
Key Points
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Light Years is best for its emotive crescendo and nocturnal intensity.
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The album’s strengths are polished songwriting, warm optimism, and a balance of sprightly uptempo tracks and slow grooves.
Themes
Critic's Take
nao arrives on Jupiter drenched in sincerity, and the best songs on Jupiter - notably “Elevate” and “Happy People” - shimmer with rhapsodic funk and layered gratitude in the way the reviewer describes. The voice here is dulcet and sensitive, high on love and open to change, and “Elevate” captures a swimming-through-the-cosmos rhapsody while “Happy People” folds vocal layering into meditative thankfulness. This is an album where vulnerable communion fuels moments that feel like ascension rather than mere popcraft, making those tracks the clearest standouts.
Key Points
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Elevate stands out for its rhapsodic, funk-tinged production and cosmic imagery.
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The album’s core strengths are sincere vocals, layered harmonies, and themes of love and growth.
Themes
Critic's Take
NAO steps into the light on Jupiter, a record radiating confidence and joy from the funky, energetic opener “Wildflowers” onward. The best tracks on Jupiter show how fluidly she moves from the delicious electric guitar solos of “Elevate” to the silky R&B of “Just Dive” and the introspective balladry of “30 Something”. Nothing, though, quite cuts to the heart of the album as the gorgeous “Light Years”, where Nao comes to terms with the way life goes and finds peace in that. The sprinkling of “wonky funk” on “Jupiter” and “All Of Me” feels like a soft, guiding light, as Nao comes out the other side lighter, warmer and happier - but just as brilliant.
Key Points
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“Light Years” is the album's emotional heart, capturing Nao coming to terms with life and finding peace.
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The album's core strengths are its confident joy, musical diversity and warm, guiding sense of growth.
Themes
