There aren’t many musicians out there that are truly exceptional at every aspect of their music. Nilüfer Yanya is one of the few exceptions. Her first two albums are a rare mix of top-notch songwriting, incredibly smooth vocals from one of the most unique performers in modern music, and production that perfectly complements the performances. Miss Universe is one of my favorite albums of the 2010s, and her last album came close to matching it. Nilüfer Yanya’s latest album, My Method Actor, puts each one of the singer’s rare combination of top-tier skills on display to shine once again.
Nilüfer’s stellar debut had much more of an art-pop instrumental style with some incredible jazz influences worked in on tracks like “Melt”, but My Method Actor does continue Painless’s departure from that towards a more Radiohead-lite alt-rock sound, which still works very well for her. The return and consistency of Wilma Archer, who worked on the production of both of Nilüfer’s other albums and in the past has worked with artists like Sudan Archives, Jessie Ware, and even the late great MF DOOM, helps ensure that the singer’s top-notch instrumentation that listeners have grown familiar with remains.
“Like I Say (I runaway)” starts with some simple and sort of seabreeze’d guitars before some killer bass and feedback kick in on the hook. Instrumentally, and maybe as a whole, My Method Actor peaks on “Call It Love” as Nilüfer’s incredible vocals are perfectly complemented by some smooth drums. The blaring synths after the hook sound divine. The whole track just makes you bounce your head from start to finish. Archer’s guitar work on the verses of “Method Actor” is the closest the album gets to the Radiohead influence – just gets played a bit faster than usual for one of their projects.
If you’ve given one of her first two projects a listen, then it will be no surprise that Nilüfer’s one-of-one vocal abilities are still the star of the show. Her deep and breathy voice sounds buttery-smooth on the flowing “Made Out Of Memory” from the jump. “Wingspan” wouldn’t work if done by most other vocalists; it’s so rare to be so vocally captivating to just envelop a track that’s just a simple two verses with no hook, but she takes the moment and fuckin’ kills it. Nilüfer delivers an elegantly winding performance on “Binding” and changes pace several times to match some of the more heavy guitars in the instrumental, and it’s one of the best sung tracks on My Method Actor.
Writing wise, Nilüfer is no slouch either, and while I don’t think My Method Actor is as conceptually rich as Miss Universe, its themes of transition and moving on are very well handled. “Keep On Dancing” is a quick listen as Nilüfer speeds through the track, but it’s one of the most palpably angry and frustrated tracks in her entire discography and sets a nice pace for the album. In addition to killing a shorter track or two, My Method Actor also lets Nilüfer deliver some perfect writing on some of her longest tracks to date. ‘I think I really wanted to miss you’, is such a gut punch line on “Ready for Sun (touch)”, the overwhelming angst just hammers you, and Nilüfer’s vocals make you cherish every second you spend listening. “Faith’s Late” is one of the best tracks on the album for Nilüfer to get into some of the feelings of loss regarding the failed relationship that inspired so much of her latest work.
‘What you looking for?
Just like a child, I play for your applause
Until you smile I’m fucking miserable
Be gone for a while just to be difficult
Cynical (Yeah)
Got nothing to say, don’t give it any thought
It’s not the same, got no way to be sure
Lost in the linе, you came here to bе caught’
If you’ve enjoyed Nilüfer’s past albums, you will enjoy this one as well. Just like Painless and Miss Universe, My Method Actor is another of the best albums of the year dropped by Nilüfer Yanya. It even further proves that she’s one of the best singers out. Even if you haven’t given one of those stellar albums a shot, you’ll be just as likely to fall in love with Nilüfer’s incredible vocals and sound for the first time as I was.
