Nilüfer Yanya is Vocally Thrilling at Brooklyn Steel (10/1)
At Brooklyn Steel, there is a calmness in the crowd as Nilüfer Yanya cooly walks onto the stage, bends down to adjust her guitar, and rises back up with the beginning of “Method Actor.” As the second single off her newest record, My Method Actor, it is a fitting beginning to the show’s energy, where thrashing guitar riffs coalesce with Yanya’s weaving vocals—at moments raw and desperate, at others clearly delivered.
The show moves to her highly acclaimed 2022 release, PAINLESS, with “L/R” and “Chase Me” imbuing the album’s sense of anxious nonchalance, fast-paced rhythms with a swaggering delivery. From the beginning, it is apparent that Yanya’s vocal performance speaks for itself, and that, like her new song “Mutations,” her voice has an array of impressive transformations.
She uses her voice like a technician, finding ways of flirting with notes, stretching out sounds, and filling up the space. Her sweeping notes cast a rod out to catch the audience, reeling them in with a surprising moment of tenderness. On songs like “Wingspan” and “Trouble,” her voice finds shattering points, only to be uplifted by a thundering power all in a singular breath. For “Stabilise,” she evokes a speaking tone to deliver the verses before finding a little more snap during the chorus.
One of the best songs of the night, “Like I Say (Runaway),” the lead single off of My Method Actor, was prefaced by the alluring “Crash (Interlude)” that floated through the crowd. The band plays with infectious energy, fully meshing as Yanya relaxes and swings under pools of blue and pink light.
Another short interlude follows, highlighting Yanya’s saxophonist, Jazzi Bobbi, whose playing rises above a chorus of muted clamor—sounds evoking dog howls and playground screaming. When Nilüfer begins singing “Wingspan,” Bobbi’s saxophone interlocks with her vocals and carefully selected moments, elevating the song’s emotional reach. Throughout the night, the saxophone is wielded like a knife or a gust of wind, cutting through both moments of sound and silence to fuse the band. Judging by the consistent cheers, it was also one of the crowd’s favorite additions.
Towards the middle of the set, Yanya prepares to sing “Heavyweight Champion of the Year,” the closer on her debut record Miss Universe. Before beginning, she quietly muses, “Wow…so many people.” You can feel Yanya’s emotions as she processes the audience and her journey since the 2019 album. It is a touching moment, and in the song, you can feel the reflective spirit poured inside of each word.
While the show’s energy wanes at times in the middle section where the assemblage of laid-back tracks occasionally melt into one another without notice, her delivery remains wholly engaged. When “Binding” arrives, the show regains control, with Yanya swaying with the moody instrumentation. A track that Yanya has stated as her favorite from the album on a takeover of the “indiethreads” Reddit page, it’s immediately evident by how earnest she is in her delivery. The lyrics are some of the most resonant of the night, singing, “I’m hollow I needed this, I need your amnesia.” It’s a blistering song about cycles of desperation and desire painted through vivid scenes that Yanya pulls from to inform her performance.
By the end, when Nilüfer performs “Rid of Me,” a PJ Harvey cover that ended up on the deluxe version of PAINLESS, the band is reeling in the last hour and fifteen minutes of performance. There is a looseness and aggression to the song, the band finding moments of glowing play and Yanya cathartically breathing on the beat. The closer is the sweepingly gorgeous “Midnight Sun”; as she performs a rendition akin to her acoustic version, the energy grows; by the end, the crowd is moving freely and basking in the final moments.
Just a few weeks after releasing My Method Actor to widespread acclaim, Yanya harnesses the album’s energy and brings it to the stage; the result is a performance that bypasses all tricks and visual aids, honing in on craft and essentials. Like the album, the show leans into what makes her music so intriguing—acrobatic, idiosyncratic vocals, quirky instrumentation, and honest storytelling. In the largest venue of the tour, Nilüfer Yanya’s morphing voice was enough to capture a crowd.
Nilüfer Yanya continues her U.S. tour through October, performing with Lutalo, Eliza McLamb, and Angélica Garcia. She will perform throughout Europe & the UK in November. Find tickets here.
