Atwood Magazine’s writers ponder the grandeur of Nilüfer Yanya’s stellar third album, ‘My Method Actor,’ an intricate, mature, and, at times, heartbreaking listening experience.
Featured here are Atwood writers Jake Fewx, Kendall Graham, and Kevin Cost!
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To start, what is your relationship with Nilüfer Yanya’s music?
Jake Fewx: I first heard of her back in 2019 when Miss Universe came out where Yanya’s unique sound and natural musicianship floored me on first listen. Not only is the instrumental palette of that album incredibly innovative, but Yanya’s songwriting is nuanced and full of care. Her aesthetic is incredibly fluid and stands tall in its own lane – it’s hard to find something to dislike. Suffice to say, it didn’t take long for me to become a fan!
Kendall Graham: I had saved a few of the songs from Miss Universe, her first album, in one of my playlists of women in indie rock, although I don’t listen to the playlist that much these days, but I really enjoy “Paralysed” and “In Your Head” from that album. I really liked that she was doing rock and alternative music and adding in these jazzy influences, and I loved experiencing both a grittiness and a smoothness from the blend of her vocals and the music. To me, she has a really unique voice, not only the tone of it, but in her cadence and the way she pronounces words. It’s a little bit hypnotic, and sometimes hard to decipher, which makes her music all the more interesting to me.
Kevin Cost: It’s fuzzy, but I remember “Melt” off her first album, Miss Universe, shuffled onto some playlist that was algorithmically curated for me, and it caused my eyebrow to raise a few millimeters. It was not until her 2022 release, Painless, that I took the leap and dove straight into her discography and her unmatched songwriting skills that enamored me into the huge fan I am today.
What are your initial impressions and reactions to My Method Actor?
Jake: On first listen, it honestly took me a track or three to adjust to My Method Actor’s darker sound, but once the album hit “Binding” I had completely bought in. Yanya continues her streak of excellent instrumental arrangements alongside her mystifying vocal delivery, but I love how she manages to expand her sound palette on this new album. I will say, after a few listens to the album, I am not wholly impressed with the songwriting. Songs like “Keep On Dancing” and “Like I Say” are excellent examples of a great Nilüfer Yanya style song, but are rather fleeting in composition. Longer songs like “Just a Western” overstay their welcome a bit, making the album feel a bit unbalanced to me. In all, the great moments outshine the weaker, resulting in another great listening experience from Nilüfer Yanya.
Kendall: Because I’d only had the experience of listening to a more rock-oriented Nilüfer Yanya, I was pretty surprised on the first listen to My Method Actor. It was so much mellower and slower. I’m glad I gave it the chance to grow on me, though. This is a lovely, lovely album full of jazzy inflection and folk-y introspection. It is still guitar-based, but not necessarily rock music in the vein of Miss Universe or PAINLESS. It seems perfect for a nighttime drive, or relaxing and lounging inside on a cold night. “Cozy” is a word that kept coming to mind when trying to sum this album up in the least amount of words possible. There’s something unique in her mix of genre styles and elements that I don’t really see other musicians doing as well as she does.
Kevin: It flows effortlessly within her discography, but feels a bit more mellowed out compared to her previous releases, in a good way. Normally, entering her albums, you expect some soul-crushing lyrics and heavy guitar riffs that bear massive weight (don’t get my wrong, there are some of those moments on this album) yet, it seems like this album is meant for a more serious listen. Each track is crafted towards the next that it is almost like she created this album to be played front to back, without any shuffles or random track selection.
How does this album compare to past albums like PAINLESS and Miss Universe – what are the most striking similarities or differences?
Jake: To me, My Method Actor is quite a bit more dramatic than Yanya’s previous work in sound and in tone (Drama. ‘Method Actor’. It makes a ton of sense, right…). Her light, highly rhythmic sound is still present, but Yanya smartly expands her instrumentation in a way that makes the album feel more dynamic than her previous, laid back aesthetic. Stellar vocal harmonies, punchy percussion, and distorted rock guitar add a much needed dimension and intensity to the music and prove Yanya’s growth as an artist. There’s something raw in this newfound edge which I like quite a bit.
Slower songs like “Binding” show off an evocative element in Yanya’s singing which I think pushes the floor of the music’s emotional range and matches the album’s aesthetic really well. As if Nilüfer Yanya wasn’t already adventurous, this new album succeeds in finding new ways to expand her songwriting, and the music is all the more exciting for it!
Kendall: The most striking difference to me between those two albums and My Method Actor is the production and instrumental choices, and the overall “vibe.” It’s much calmer and feels more reflective than her previous projects. I think her choices make the music very intricate, and I wound up hearing things upon subsequent listens that I didn’t notice the first time.
I definitely agree with Jake on the heightened drama of this album, which feels purposeful, especially in the “wink” of the title. Something I noticed, though, and was missing, was the lack of interludes on this album. To me, that’s what made Miss Universe really intriguing, having these little breaks in between songs that were almost satirical skits giving even more insight into her world. I think that could have worked to great effect here and lent even more drama to this album.
Kevin: It is hard to state this as a more personal approach from her previous releases because her songwriting is always very open-hearted and tends to hit the core of tender sensations, but My Method Actor could be coined as her “unplugged” release, even though there are some loud-as-hell moments you need to turn the volume up for. While it feels like this was the missing puzzle piece in her discography, it stands out in various ways compared to her previous releases with maturity and grandeur.
Nilüfer Yanya teased My Method Actor with “Just a Western,” “Mutations,” and “Call It Love.” Are these singles faithful representations of the album?
Jake: Absolutely! A lot of the wordplay on the album utilizes a sort of concrete physicality which is highly evocative; I think these singles are a great example of that. Like I mentioned earlier, “Mutations” portrays Yanya’s more dramatic qualities by pushing the softer limits of her sound – I love it but need way more of those gorgeous strings!
This song’s lyrics capture the album’s evocative tendencies as well. Yanya gets a lot of mileage out of a series of incomplete sentences in the verses of the song – It’s very Mitski. Lines like “Both us black and blue” and “I’m unchained resistance / unashamed your vicious”, as cliche as it is, say a whole lot with a whole little; Yanya gets straight to the point and paints a tangible, overtly physical emotion which convey a relatable feeling.
“Call It Love” uses a similar technique to describe heartbreak which is equal parts beautiful and climactic – Yanya doesn’t need much to stab you in the heart!
Kendall: I would say that yes, these three singles represent the kind of music and themes on this album.
Again, I agree with Jake about Yanya’s penchant for incomplete sentences. To me, she poses a lot of questions and leaves them hanging in the air. The lyrics to “Just A Western” are very dense, they tell a confusing story. It’s got the kind of guitar and soft percussion that lend themselves to the feel of a Western film. Lyrics painting half-pictures that the listener can fill in themselves. She offers something to us but also keeps us a little at arm’s length, shrouded in a lightly mystic veil. This isn’t music that, to me, can be fully understood or appreciated with just one listen. The composition of the songs requires that you return to it to uncover something that wasn’t previously apparent.
“Mutations” is my favorite song on this album. It’s so pretty, and it stretches into the territories of jazz and neo-soul. I love the drums, the vocals and, even though I still find them a bit mystifying, the lyrics. They’re kind of threadbare here, and that brings up a lot of questions, but I think it can be really fun when a song does that.
Kevin: Funny enough, the teaser, which I remember as the first single I heard, was “Like I Say (I runaway),” and it was a moment of satisfaction knowing she was about to drop her next record whilst still honing in on her iconic fuzzy guitar and effervescent vocals. “Mutations” was the next release I allowed myself to dabble in before the official release, and it could not fit more perfectly to the sound she aimed for while assembling this album.
My Method Actor has been billed as an album that asks questions with no easy answers – “Who are we? Why do we follow the paths we follow? What is at the heart of it all?” Does this description capture the spirit of these songs, and where do you hear or feel it most?
Jake: Yes, I think this sentiment matches the vibe of the album. I hear it most in songs like “Call It Love” where Yanya is questioning the preconceptions of being in love. A relationship is not all heart eyes and giggles and I think Yanya does a great job questioning the very sentiment of connection and if the negative feelings that stem from a poor relationship are even worth it. Why follow that path if it isn’t going to result in happiness?
Kendall: I hear this sentiment the strongest, or it stood out to me the most, on “Binding.” I think it’s an interesting juxtaposition because binding something, or binding yourself to something, is an enmeshment. You mix part of yourself to this other thing, and at some point the question of “Who am I?” has to come up. In this song, I hear Yanya struggling with a connection that has soured and become scornful, and it sounds like it’s causing her to examine not only the meaning of the relationship itself but of relating to people in general. Agreeing here again with Jake about her doing a great job questioning the nature and sentiment of her connections.
Kevin: Throughout her discography, Yanya repeatedly asks these bitter questions, and it is up to the listener to decide how to process or find the answer. On My Method Actor, she wastes no time expressing these concepts, especially with the opening lyrics to the record: “What you looking for? Shut up and raise your glass if you’re not sure.” It sets the mood in the sincerest way while allowing a few open pockets of interpretation to conjure your answer, even if it isn’t easy.
Which song(s) stand out for you on the album, and why?
Jake: I LOVE “Wingspan” as a closer for the album. It’s aesthetic is very muted which nicely contrasts the darker tone of the album preceding it. Slower moments like “Ready for Sun (touch)” and “Binding” stick out as ‘ballads that aren’t really ballads’, really slowing down the pace of the album by making you listen to what Nilüfer has to say. “Like I Say” has maybe my favorite instrumental palette on the album. The chorus is super catchy but the rock guitars are simply electrifying – I wish there were more of it across the album!
Kendall: First off, I love the strings in “Faith’s Late,” they are so ethereal and heart-achingly beautiful. This song also has some of my favorite lyrics from Yanya on this album. I also love hearing songs about musicians’ relationships to faith, because it’s something to which I relate very strongly.
Quickly revisiting what I was saying about “Mutations” and its neo-soul arrangement. I’ve actually been listening to this song on repeat since the album came out. The title really makes me think… Is she talking about mutations that need to occur in order to move this relationship forward? Did the mutations already occur, as a direct result of the course of this relationship?
I also really love the whole vibe of “Binding.” The lyrics are kind of piecemeal, a little fragmented, but it matches the music which, to agree with Jake again, is a ballad that’s not really a ballad. It’s kind of hypnotic and something I can’t really put my finger all the way on.
Kevin: “Binding” is a major standout on this record. Its tonal direction feels very relaxed, but Yanya naturally creates a melancholic world. Subtle guitar riffs go a long way on this record to solidify the emotional body of her songwriting. Even though the song feels less intense than the songs before, it transitions perfectly into the stellar “Mutations,” which has the energy to pick you back up into the listening experience of the record.
I probably listen to “Like I Say (I runaway)” once a week because that drop into the distorted, fuzzy mess of guitar during the chorus is like pouring hot honey directly into my skull – pure gold.
Do you have any favorite lyrics so far? Which lines stand out?
Jake: I mentioned “Call It Love” earlier, but dang is it great! Yanya doesn’t use a multitude of lyrics to get her message across, but she uses the small amount of words present to give the music a rapid sense of direction. The text painting on lines like “Caught in a rip / caught in a wave”, “send me up”, and “caught in a web” feel like motion lines in a comic panel that rip the listener around on Yanya’s emotional roller coaster.
The smaller lyrical writing makes words like “crave”, “ashes”, and “wave” have a stronger meaning within the context of the song as well. Especially on the repetition in the chorus: “Still before life! / Still Ironic / Still I want it / Still alone” – so good!
The wordplay on “Ready for Sun” is really excellent as well. The closing sequence of the song, “I guess I really wanted to fill that void / But never really wanted it to last”, once again, uses strong language and clever dichotomy to add depth to Yanya’s emotional context. The more I dive into the lyrics the more I fall in love with!
Kendall: These lyrics from “Faith’s Late” are among my favorites on the album: “I feel shame the modern way / And I fear fate is bound to break / I feel caged and far away / I fear faith is born too late.”
This is very strong lyrical imagery. It makes these intangible topics feel more tangible and concrete, like something I could actually hold in my hands and examine. What’s happened in Yanya’s life that she fears it’s too late for faith to arrive? The “modern way” of feeling shame is also super interesting to me because I really can’t put my finger on what she means by that. I think I’ve been liking the lyrical content on this album because it begs so many questions in my mind and keeps me thinking.
Kevin: The major standout for me is on “Binding” when she sings, “Drive all night, that green light gets weaker and weaker. So come on and feel this, I’m hardly here either. One push and my wheels give, amnesia, amnesia.” What a dark, dark lyric, yet holds truth to the entirety of the song that in itself feels like the end-of-it-all after enduring the most heartbreaking experience you can imagine.
Where do you feel My Method Actor sits in the pantheon of Nilüfer Yanya’s discography?
Jake: Nilüfer Yanya is 3 for 3 in my book so it is really hard to rank her work. I think I need to sit with My Method Actor a while longer to make a definitive statement because I can see Nilüfer Yanya’s discography being one that has a new favorite depending on the time and place. The future of Nilüfer Yanya is extremely bright!
Kendall: I would say that My Method Actor probably tops the list of Yanya’s albums at this point. Maybe it’s because it’s the one I’m most familiar with at this point, but I also like it so much because it’s musically a bit of a departure from Miss Universe and PAINLESS. It feels more soulful, a little calmer and more put-together. I will say, however, that it only tops the list by a fraction because I do really like PAINLESS a lot, too. I think they are the two best sides of the same coin in Yanya’s discography.
Kevin: In this ever-expanding, confusing, and, to say the least, diverse world of music, Nilüfer Yanya is an unmatched and distinct voice. Her songwriting tends to get better and better with every release, and she continues to surprise me with any rendition she throws onto the record. This album is just another “nailed it” moment for me in her discography.
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:: stream/purchase My Method Actor here ::
:: connect with Nilüfer Yanya here ::
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Watch: “Method Actor” – Nilüfer Yanya
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© Molly Daniels
© Molly Daniels
My Method Actor
an album by Nilüfer Yanya
