N Nao, the pseudonym embodied by Montrealer Naomie de Lorimier, is proving to be one of the most interesting revelations of recent years. Does Nouveau langage, the title of her third album, live up to her claims? Certainly, the approach is atypical, although there are other singer-songwriters who are making comparable explorations – Grouper, Jenny Hval, Julia Holter and others. But in French-speaking America, N Nao can be considered a pioneer, so Nouveau langage is a justified title.
Like his previous works, N Nao’s magnificent album is not a full-fledged song galette, as the artist does not systematically exploit the AABA form, a structure inherent to pop – more precisely, the AABA form of a song has 2 distinct parts: the A section is repeated (AA) with the same melodic line and chords, the B section that follows is the bridge with another melodic line and harmonic construction, and the whole is completed by the return of the A section.
A free spirit, N Nao does not systematically obey this accepted form to achieve popular success. Instead, her ecofeminist-inspired poetry, which is very close to nature and expresses the energy of progesterone (an inspiration from N Nao: Beyond the Boundaries of the Body by Silvia Federici, an essay on the control of the female body), is laid down over musical frames varying from 2 minutes and 40 seconds to 5 minutes and 53 seconds – which can be nicely stretched out on stage.
N Nao’s new body of work is absorbed like instrumental or electronic music, drawing on a variety of styles – ambient, new age, drum&bass, cyber-folk, krautrock, chamber music and so on. The interplay of referents here is fluid and organic, arranged by a highly gifted colorist. Connected to her unconscious, to what her mind expresses through dreams and even creative trance, N Nao has an exceptional channel through which to direct her inspiration. What’s more, this young woman fully embraces her gentleness and sensuality, to the point of exhaling the fever inherent in desire, without slipping into hypersexualization. Her words come straight from the unconscious, short texts about love, the body, the earth, simple texts that crackle with truth.
