Label: Ninja Tune
Released: 2nd July 2025
Nilüfer Yanya has always excelled at crafting songs that feel both intimate and aloof, like she’s letting you in on something personal, but only halfway. On new EP ‘Dancing Shoes’, her first release since last year’s ‘My Method Actor’, she continues to refine that blend of vulnerability and restraint.
Opener ‘Kneel’ is the standout: a beautifully layered, slow-building piece that feels emotionally weighty without being overwrought. Yanya’s voice – simultaneously cool and wounded – moves through shimmering textures and submerged beats, building tension with subtlety rather than spectacle. It’s a song that rewards patience.
‘Where To Look’ is similarly engrossing, its plaintive guitar and hushed atmosphere slowly giving way to a cathartic crescendo. Yanya has said it’s one of her favourite melodies she’s ever written, and it’s easy to see why – it lingers in the head long after the track ends.
‘Cold Heart’ is a little less emotionally gripping than what comes before it, then closer ‘Treason’ strips things back again, ending the project on a note of quiet introspection. It doesn’t try to impress; instead, it gently recedes, leaving listeners in a contemplative hush.
Across its four tracks, ‘Dancing Shoes’ offers a brief but affecting look into Yanya’s world, one marked by inner conflict, understated production and emotional honesty. It’s the kind of record you find yourself returning to, unsure exactly what it is you’re looking for, but knowing it’s in there somewhere.
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