goodmusic – When Nao sings “If I was your girlfriend” over submerged beats

When Nao sings “If I was your girlfriend” over submerged beats, it’s less a seduction than a challenge. The London R&B artist spins a darkly intense tale of two people who are both “broken,” and asks whether a couple can be a balm to each other’s bruises. Musical flourishes mirror this co-dependent balance of power and vulnerability — the spacey synth hits in the chorus like your heart’s lurching. “Could you pull me through?” she asks in a high-register, with the kind of raw emotion that feels as if you’re holding her hand as she pours her heart out. Relationships, as Nao recognizes, rarely live up to the “beautiful and mystical illusion” that society projects, but with its honest take on the realities of attraction, “Girlfriend” nails a perspective that’s just as special. — OWEN MYERS When Nao sings “If I was your girlfriend” over submerged beats, it’s less a seduction than a challenge. The London R&B artist spins a darkly intense tale of two people who are both “broken,” and asks whether a couple can be a balm to each other’s bruises. Musical flourishes mirror this co-dependent balance of power and vulnerability — the spacey synth hits in the chorus like your heart’s lurching. “Could you pull me through?” she asks in a high-register, with the kind of raw emotion that feels as if you’re holding her hand as she pours her heart out. Relationships, as Nao recognizes, rarely live up to the “beautiful and mystical illusion” that society projects, but with its honest take on the realities of attraction, “Girlfriend” nails a perspective that’s just as special. — OWEN MYERS