NAO – “Girlfriend” (Singles Going Steady)

Chris Ingalls: NAO’s “R&B on helium” pipes serve this song well, creating an atmosphere of (perhaps) misleading innocence. Her voice mixes nicely with the unique dynamics of the music, which comes in sparsely during the verses and crashes in, anthemically, during the powerful choruses. The spacey keyboard solo before the final chorus is a fun, retro treat, as is the little funky keyboard/guitar coda. [8/10]

Steve Horowitz: NAO has an interesting voice, but the song gets bogged down in the stickiness of its sentiments. The slowness of it all makes the emotions too syrupy. The song would sound better if speeded up, although that would make NAO’s already high-pitched vocals into something cartoonish. One can be in love without being put into a slo-mo trance. [6/10]

Chad Miller: I absolutely love this song. NAO’s lyrics are expertly crafted and hit right at the core of insecurity with lines like “Feels like pretty doesn’t know me / Only shows up when I’m lonely” and “Could you like someone that’s hoping that they crawl out of their own skin for a time?” Musically, the song sounds like a representation of a personal journey as NAO takes us from the sweetly confessional beginnings to the ascendant chorus and finally to the dissonant confidence found in the bridge, all fortified by the versatile and flawless production. The effortless sound set against the pain in uncertainty is striking and cements “Girlfriend” as a standout track on NAO’s For All We Know. [10/10]

SCORE: 8.00