The Predatory Wasp
Nilüfer Yanya returns with her new EP Dancing Shoes, out now on Ninja Tune. Dancing Shoes was written alongside a collection of tracks that Nilüfer re-approached with her creative partner Wilma Archer when she returned from touring her latest, insanely brilliant LP My Method Actor aka the best album of 2024. The project includes Nilüfer’s latest singles “Where To Look” and “Cold Heart”, as well as this previously unreleased beauty.
There’s a three track run in the middle of Nilüfer Yanya’s new album My Method Actor that is so good that after a few listens I’ve convinced this is the best album released this year so far. Time will tell if that remains to be the case, but for now it’s made me a) cry with happiness and b) want to listen to it multiple times every day. It feels that despite consistently excellent reviews of her music, Yanya hasn’t received quite the recognition she deserves as yet. Hopefully that will now start to change.
I’m sure we can all agree Nilüfer Yanya’s Midnight Sun is probably the best song of 2022 (even though Pitchfork only ranked it 17 – idiots!), so it was a nice surprise to get a deluxe version of her album PAINLESS last month that included this acoustic version, which further gently eases us into the relentless bleakness of January, however much we resist.
This summer I saw Nilüfer Yanya play to a more than half empty tent at Glastonbury, which is a shame because she was great. The previous day they had to close to entire field this tent was in as half a billion people turned up to hear Mel C play bangers from her eight (eight!) solo albums, and maybe Wannabe. And that’s how music works people! Yanya’s album PAINLESS is one of the best of the year, and this is her second single since, covering PJ Harvey’s Rid Of Me to enjoyably nihilistic effect.
I’m a busy little boy today and am still somehow hungover from a Sunday that got out of hand, so you’re not getting much out of me except to say that this is great and you should listen to it.
Just listen to those drums! They are truly incredible: so much energy and raw angst, and when paired with the restrained huskiness of Yanya’s vocal and the late addition of distorted guitars – with melodies reminiscent of The Smashing Pumpkins – it’s hard to tell whether it’s 2022 or 1992, but it really doesn’t matter as this is SO FUCKING GOOD.
The Predatory Wasp 