My Method Actor Nilufer Yanya

explicit

Released on 9/13/24 by Ninja Tune
Main artists: Nilüfer Yanya
Genre: Alternative & Indie

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Before Nilüfer Yanya had even announced her new album, its single "Method Actor" had already claimed a place on "Best of 2024" lists. This followed the near-universal acclaim the British singer-songwriter received for her first two records, PAINLESS and Miss Universe. Now that My Method Actor is here, let's just say that anticipation is through the moon. How's that for pressure?

If the increased attention is getting to her, she sure doesn't show it. On her Ninja Tune debut, the West Londoner flirts with a variety of styles and approaches, using her distinctly beautiful voice as a guide through it all. Yanya's vocals have been compared to the hauntingly romantic near-monotone of Sade, the power found in Stories-era PJ Harvey and the emotional heft of Tori Amos. To be clear, Yanya's vocals are not an imitation of these iconic voices, but her voice is exactly like theirs in its unique and singular approach and instant recognition. In an era where many other females aim for that trendy whisper-vocal, Yanya is proudly nothing like that—instead flying closer to Astrud Gilberto and Jane Birkin.

The album opener, "Keep on Dancing," uses indie rock as its launch pad, with acoustic guitar, a hip-hop influenced drum loop and a backing string section to make it all the more dramatic. The second track "Like I Say (I runaway)" takes things in a much more rock direction, using a growling wall of guitars to open up the chorus, bringing to mind Billy Corgan's classic approach to "1979" from Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness. "Binding" feels straight out of the Feist playbook and touches on Tracey Thorn and '90s Everything but the Girl. In fact, all the darkness and power exhibited by Yanya throughout My Method Actor feels like a variation cut from Thorn's heartfelt and angelic approach—high praise when aggregated with some of the other aforementioned names.

My Method Actor sounds like classic R&B under the tutelage of Tori Amos's Boys for Pele and delivered post-Radiohead; the penchant for experimentalism that permeates throughout never takes precedence over traditional song structure. Its middle feels rooted in what was great about '90s alternative rock—a mish-mash of styles converging and creating a unique whole and experimenting with new directions to feel fresh and vibrant. But none of that would mean anything without Yanya's entrancing vocals—one of the more haunting voices of her generation. © Fred Pessaro/Qobuz

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My Method Actor

Nilüfer Yanya

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Keep On Dancing Explicit