In the fall of 2022, Nilüfer Yanya found herself standing at a pivotal moment. The British musician and songwriter—whose inaugural duo of albums in the complex and emotive indie pop genre had established her as a rapidly ascending figure with extraordinary cross-genre charm—finally had the ability to step off the relentless cycle of composing, recording, promoting, and performing. For the first period in her career, she had the chance to halt and consider her future moves with genuine clarity.
It felt slightly intimidating. “I believe I’ve grown more aware of my work style,” Yanya mentions. “I didn’t wish to hurriedly return to creating another album because taking a break in between is crucial. But I hadn’t previously grasped a wider comprehension of the method. Now, with the third album, I somewhat understand it. I recognize my patterns a little more.” Given the challenges that touring artists face post-pandemic, figuring out when conditions were stable enough for Yanya to take a pause was a tricky endeavor. “Reaching that point took time,” she continues. “No creative profession is consistently secure. Thus, you have to sense it internally, without delving too deeply. You must be able to say, ‘No, I can handle this. This is alright.’ You’re permitted to do that.”
The tangible benefits of that pause can be heard on Yanya’s stunning new album, My Method Actor, unveiled today on her fresh label Ninja Tune. Across 11 tracks, she doubles down on her trademarks: guitar playing that transitions from gritty, reverb-heavy fuzz to intricate acoustic exploration; dynamic percussion that can resemble both classic rock drumming and delicate, syncopated trip-hop; her quietly impactful lyricism. (And, naturally, there’s Yanya’s smoky, androgynous voice, exuding a piercing intimacy that gives the listener a feeling of eavesdropping on a secret.) This masterful fusion of styles imparts the album a quality that echoes timelessness, yet also feels unmistakably current.