‘And Then Life Was Beautiful’ truly is a true celebration of R&B, yet – despite its nostalgic nods – Nao has still created a record that doesn’t sound like anyone else.
While shining and untroubled moments also occur later, And Then Life Was Beautiful more often confronts a failing relationship and reckons with personal shortcomings.
Her unique tone continues to radiate from track to track, gliding in layers over comparatively lightweight electronic production – a marked difference from her previous two records.
Stepping back from the album, analysing the lyrics and the underlying details, allows you to fully appreciate its glory as a work of art.
Plenty of new albums are considering life with Covid, but few of them are as sensual and gorgeous as this.
The result is a singer who sounds more intimate than ever.
The Grammy-nominated Londoner takes things to the next level with this impeccably on point third album.
The result ... is a vibrant and affecting third album, which defies expectations with its organic message of uplift and tender reminder of the benefits of slowing down.
And Then Life Was Beautiful shimmers in the heat of the summer just gone, and strikes a good balance between exhortation and introspection.
These songs feel genuinely warm and life-affirming. Yet sometimes they lack the immediacy of her previous work.
This album is very much in the vein of Saturn rather than For All We Know, which I preferred because of its “wonky funk” (Nao’s own words) sounds. There hasn’t been much evolution in terms of the sound world between Saturn and this, it still fits the somewhat slow synthpop and R&B profile.
When the album opens and one of the first lyrics is “2020 hit us differently”, I couldn’t keep a straight face because that’s such a corny lyric. Also the ... read more
Em seu terceiro disco, And Then Life Was Beautiful, a cantora, compositora e produtora inglesa Nao entrega a sua própria visão de felicidade. “A vida não é perfeita,” disse a artista em um comunicado de imprensa. “É isso que a vida é, e você continua vivendo. Mas, acima de tudo, você tenta entrar em um lugar de gratidão para que você possa ver a vida em toda a sua beleza”, ela completou. Trabalhando ... read more
. A música representa como Nao, e talvez todos nós, tivemos que desacelerar no ano passado. Essas músicas parecem um lembrete de como isso pode ser importante. ❤️
O significado de felicidade é um dos questionamentos mais antigos da raça humana. Aristóteles, um dos filósofos mais importantes da história, quando perguntado qual era o propósito da vida, disse que era atingir a felicidade. Para ele, todo homem tem o desejo de alcançar tal sentimento acima de tudo e molda suas ações visando esse objetivo, que, segundo ele, também é um sinônimo de prosperidade, riqueza e ... read more
There's nothing crazy good going on with this record, there are good tracks on here and its well constructed, but for me personally it's not a renaissance of R&B at all. No offense to nao, this could easily be my own bias but I think this record would absolutely drown amongst the paragon work from the early 2000s in the genre. I think nao's only real unique appeal on this album is her authentic vocals, it reminds me of Britney Spear's iconic baby voice but so much less forced. That being ... read more
1 | And Then Life Was Beautiful 3:23 | 85 |
2 | Messy Love 3:35 | 86 |
3 | Glad That You're Gone 3:33 | 84 |
4 | Antidote 3:22 feat. Adekunle Gold | 88 |
5 | Burn Out 3:19 | 81 |
6 | Wait 3:10 | 81 |
7 | Good Luck 3:04 feat. Lucky Daye | 85 |
8 | Nothing's for Sure 4:17 | 77 |
9 | Woman 3:11 feat. Lianne La Havas | 93 |
10 | Better Friend 3:21 | 79 |
11 | Postcards 3:27 feat. serpentwithfeet | 81 |
12 | Little Giants 4:00 | 82 |
13 | Amazing Grace 3:26 | 83 |
#29 | / | Double J |
#46 | / | NME |
#58 | / | Rough Trade (UK) |
#73 | / | Albumism |