Nilüfer Yanya - Dancing Shoes
The latest EP from indie rock’s quietly electrifying force is a fleeting, yet entrancing collection of lo-fi anthems.
It’s been six years since Nilüfer Yanya’s full-length debut, Miss Universe, first positioned her as a singular voice in the alternative landscape. Since then, the Turkish-British artist has gracefully navigated the evolving contours of modern indie — from alt-rock radio gems to shadowy post-punk sketches and dreamlike shoegaze vignettes. Her newest release, Dancing Shoes, out via Ninja Tune, marks a gentler pivot — a soft-focus plunge into the intimate textures of bedroom pop.
Clocking in at just four tracks over sixteen minutes, Dancing Shoes is brief, yet surprisingly resonant. Yanya’s smoky, languorous vocals melt seamlessly into understated, slow-burning instrumentals. At times, there’s a kind of fatigue in her voice — not the weariness of burnout, but a contented exhaustion, like the quiet pride that follows a long, purposeful day. It’s this distinct emotional texture that sets Yanya apart: once you hear her, you rarely confuse her with anyone else.
Even within its compact runtime, the EP offers two career standouts: “Where To Look” and “Cold Heart”, tracks that easily rank among Yanya’s finest. “Where To Look” radiates warmth — like sunlight filtering through a curtain — blending gentle acoustic strums with percussive elements that verge on the industrial. It’s a combination that might seem discordant in theory, but in practice it’s enveloping, like being wrapped in a soft blanket as Yanya ruminates on the complications of love.
A similar alchemy unfolds on the devastating “Cold Heart”, arguably one of her most emotionally piercing tracks to date. Shimmering synths evoke the breeze of a summer evening — you feel yourself drifting alongside her, suspended in that golden hour just before the sun disappears. The EP closes with “Treason”, perhaps the most immediately accessible song of the bunch. Here, her voice — unobscured and crystalline — takes center stage, floating above a restrained but evocative arrangement. It feels like a subtle culmination of her sonic identity: the seamless marriage of delicate acoustic tones with weightier, more brooding undertones.
Ultimately, Dancing Shoes reaffirms Nilüfer Yanya’s talent for crafting hauntingly beautiful narratives and her sharpened sense of production. At this point in her career, every release feels like a quiet gift — something you want to hold close. These songs don’t just linger; they reshape the atmosphere around you, subtly recalibrating your world to match their mood.
7.7/10
