Five star Electric Picnic review: NAO

Little Big Tent

This review began like a bitter custody dispute between two jealously possessive writers, but, two songs in, and in the presence of someone so infectiously joyful, we have decided to jointly adopt NAO. When she came out of her maternal womb, though,  she was a fully-grown and totally refined performer. She is what Usher would call TTP. The Total Package. Taking all the best parts of 90s R&B (TLC and Aaliyah) and threading it with that distinctive London soul and Bristol glitch, her album For All We Know is one of the best alt-pop albums of the year.

I Was A Fool gets the entire population of the tent slow grinding like they've got an unreachable itch. It is quite the lovefest and as it's her first time in Ireland, she is bowled over by the mass appreciation.

Her mode veers between the lovelorn and the love fool, but it's the expression that matters. The joyous and bouncy Inhale/Exhale can still land a gut punch breakdown.

In the Morning is even more dramatic live, summoning the dark forces within that would make The Weeknd look like a push-over. And for all the pleasure she takes in being herself, Bad Blood is the work of a woman possessed.

For all the beige male demontors who performed on the main stage this weekend, NAO undid the damage and brought us back to life.

Gig in three words:

NAO or never.

Kinds regards,

Louise Bruton and Peter Crawley