Label: Ninja Tune
Released: 13th September 2024
Freshly signed to Ninja Tune, London songwriter Nilüfer Yanya’s third outing, ‘My Method Actor’, expands her portfolio of genre-bending and blending to a new high. A musical Swiss-army knife, this time around Nilüfer’s slotting muted, soulful, aching sounds next to dirty, guitar-led cuts and sparse beat-led ones with exquisite ease. ‘My Method Actor’ holds all of the acclaim of her previous albums and dares it to continue.
Created in the self-professed intense bubble between her and her longtime collaborator Will Archer, ‘My Method Actor’ reels in this intensity and turns it into a melodramatic dream. Opening with ‘Keep On Dancing’, the encouraging pace of the guitar sets the tone for an album that digs its heels into the multifaceted nature of being a human and all that entails. ‘Like I Say (I runaway)’ continues the driving momentum with a luscious riding guitar line that explodes in its chorus, but rather than going full-pelt throughout, Nilüfer takes her feet off the pedal to soak up the journey. The titular track is a grunge-bathed beaut that unfurls in its sparser moments, an element that creeps over everything after it, leading to a cloudy weight bearing down. The latter half slows down, letting the tricks of a well-executed yearning or Radiohead-esque wizardry create an atmosphere that truly envelops you.
Throughout ‘My Method Actor’, Nilüfer’s songwriting is elevated by a production that accentuates her richly smooth vocals. As drums flit and guitars hurriedly drive forward, it all makes for an incredibly compelling listen that leaves you wanting more.
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