Nilüfer Yanya has always been an intriguing songwriter. On her debut album âMiss Universeâ, her genre-spanning songs were threaded together by Black Mirror-inspired voice notes, with eerie clips hooked around a fictional health company called âWWayHealthâ (We Worry About Your Health). Creating a narrative around the record via this ominous organisation who promised to âworry about you so you don’t have to”, the messages also acted as a throughline, piecing together the musically varied record. Meanwhile its follow-up âPainlessâ saw Yanya draw on more leftfield influences (like t.A.T.u.) and fuse them with â as NME said at the time â âNirvana-style murk and jerky, Bloc Party style post-punkâ.
Third album, âMy Method Actorâ, once again distils the London singer-songwriter’s creativity: building blocks of percolating beats, wiry guitar licks, lashings of grunge and lush soaring vocal melodies all accompany Yanyaâs ruminative lyrics. The record saw her work exclusively with Wilma Archer (Sudan Archives, Celeste), a longtime collaborator who also worked on her previous two records. The duo, Yanya has explained in a statement, kept the team for the project small in order to ânot dilute [the album and songwriting process] in any way, even if itâs coming from insecurity â âoh is this good?ââ
The results of this stripped-back creative circle are a collection of artfully and deliberately crafted tunes, albeit one thatâs missing the dusting of euphoric pop her debut boasted (Ã la driving earworm âBaby Bluâ and the Kelis-inspired âHeat Risesâ). Theyâre songs that feel like theyâve been written with a razor focus, each instrumental line playing a purpose. Itâs perhaps overly considered at times (the sleepy âMade Out Of Memoryâ, for example, could be elevated with a dash of spontaneity), but largely the sheer songwriting force wins out, aided by Yanyaâs thoughtful lyricism.
Take âCall It Loveâ, a reflection on complicated relationship dynamics that sees Yanya sing, âStill Ironic/Still I want it/Still alone!â, later concluding with the honest couplet: âSome call it love/I call it shameâ. The complex isolation of the track is echoed musically by a buzzing, overdriven riff, the somewhat jarring sonics juxtaposed over the songâs other lilting instrumentals.
Meanwhile, trip-hop sensibilities and jittering Strokes-infused guitars come to a head on âMutationsâ, a driving cut that sees Yanya chew over âthe subtle change that happens constantly as millions of tiny decisions and actions shape your beingâ. These small shifts are echoed in the arrangement of the song, instrumental lines and arrangements delicately altering, cinematic strings ebbing here, beats skittering there.
There are earworms too, in the form of the short and sweet opening tune âKeep On Dancingâ, and the killer, grungy-chorus-boasting âLike I Say (I Runaway)â. The latter is a damning assessment of the inevitable passage of time and how it ticks by too quickly, with Yanya musing: âDoes it feel like all you have/Is put in black and white?/The minute Iâm not in control/Iâm tearing up insideâ.
Itâs a record that spins the growing aches and pains of your twenties â and the realisations and decisions that come during these times â through Yanyaâs musical world. And while âMy Method Actorâ is carefully crafted and could fall into the trap of being unduly deliberated, Yanya couples these details with moments of eye watering vulnerability (take âWingspanâ, where she sings: âYou donât get to be devoted/Now youâre dead to meâ). An honest, innovative collection that bolsters her reputation as a stellar songwriter, Yanya âundilutedâ makes for an absorbing listen.
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- Record label: Ninja Tune
- Release date: September 13, 2024