British R&B singer-songwriter NAO has released “Curiosity,” the final single from her upcoming sophomore album Saturn. The song, which she co-produced with modern London soulsmiths GRADES and Loxe, captures the anxious searching of foreplay, with its synth washes and zero-gravity drums echoing on the edge of climax. NAO, harmonizing with her own pitched-up falsetto, focuses on the spine-tingling details, “Fingertips to trace my lips, tension’s all the moment gives.” She described this tension in a press release:
“I have to have a seductive track on every album. I had ‘Feels Like’ on For All We Know and this fills the same role. It’s one of the more left-field tracks on the album but my sense is the OG NAO fans will like it. It’s quite a visceral song and has that half-time tension which tends to translate really well to the live show. I think it might become a highlight at the show.”
The new song follows “Another Lifetime,” the SiR-featuring “Make It Out Alive,” and “Drive & Disconnect,” all of which featured production from GRADES. Saturn is set for release on October 26 and NAO plans to tour behind the album, with stops in Japan, Europe, and North America beginning in December. She also stopped by BBC Radio 1Xtra today to perform an acoustic cover of Aretha Franklin‘s 1973 single “Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do),” originally recorded by Stevie Wonder. Listen to “Curiosity” and watch NAO’s Aretha Franklin cover below.
