“We play a lot of shows but there’s nothing like home in London”
Perhaps the least solicitous musician on-stage with the most intriguing background, by virtue of a Turkish father and Irish-Bajan mother, entered into the fray of her largest homecoming show to date. The 23-year-old singer-songwriter from West London had recently been coined as Best New Music by the critical juggernaut of Pitchfork with her debut LP ‘Miss Universe’ - imminently making her one of the hottest tickets in town. With those desperate to see her modern blend of pop-rock and alternative-R&B, the heaving intimacy of the Hackney venue compensated for Yanya’s characteristic nonchalance and duly complimented her potently ‘unpolished edge’.
In the supporting role of tonight’s exhibition of London artists, the indie-pop act grounded in neo-soul, Westerman, delved into his condensed discography - namely his debut EP of last year, Ark. Comprising of a mere trio on stage, the instrumentation sounded inherently sparse offering little in the way of substantial bite to a fairly bland meal of these musical tropes - patently wearing their influences of Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young heavily on their sleeves. Frontman Will Westerman's voice incessantly delivered a half-baked falsetto range tied within the airy facade of the music, which admittedly culminated well into the much-favoured finale track of ‘Confirmation’. With a more upbeat tone to the track, Westerman was partially able to redeem the rest of his set which proved as a lacklustre starter to the main course of Yanya’s multifarious mains.
Plucked straight from the deified debut LP of hers, Yanya cascaded into the perfectly crafted pop-rock tune ‘In Your Head’, before conducting the slower-paced R&B track ‘Melt’. Sumptuously soothing saxophone melodies were incorporated well against Yanya’s juxtaposing lyricism lambasting her former other, ‘I bet your brain cells won’t last, I bet they cling to the trash’ - seemingly ripped straight from the death metal books of Megadeth or Behemoth.
Whilst both of these tracks exemplified the leaps and bounds of Yanya’s songwriting, her excavation of older tracks from earlier EPs were less convincing in their middle-of-the-road neo-soul sheen. Tracks such as 'Thanks 4 Nothing’ and ‘Golden Cage’ seemed to feel bare in their live element, basking more in the groove and beat of the track rather than the backing instrumentation bolstering the melodies.
Diverting back to her debut LP was resoundingly welcomed by the sold-out crowd, desirous of Yanya’s refined sounds influenced by the preceding decades of blended pop-rock and R&B. ‘Baby Blu’s buoyant feel encased with layered synths gave way to the Sting-esque single of ‘Safety Net’ - caressing a soft-on-the-ears sound amongst the deluge of easy-listening riffs. Cut from the same cloth, ‘Tears’ brilliantly pushed Yanya’s insouciant vocal delivery underscored with earwormy synths and upbeat drumming patterns, formulating the recognisable tropes of a prime Whitney Houston track.
‘Keep on Calling’ unfortunately paled at the hands of some simplistic beats, instrumentation, and lyricism in its neo-soul facade yet was preceded by the treasured recent single of ‘Heavyweight Champion of the Year’. Grounded in the relatable theme of striving for your personal life goals and struggling with extenuating challenges, Yanya delved into a variety of intriguing vocal melodies exploding into a pop-rock wall of distortions and sonic skirmishes.
Crowned as Pitchfork’s protege, the highly-anticipated nature of the homecoming show set the stage exquisitely within the buried depths of North London. Yet for all the accolades of Yanya’s recent debut LP, the performance of her previous sets of work plateaued in parts, offering an ordinary take on the alt-R&B recently popularised in this country by the likes of Rex Orange County and Khalid. The nonchalant nature of Yanya deemed relatively tiring, yet her latest pop-rock singles compelled the audience in exuding their refined, lyrically-sound, and groovier facades. Yanya’s immediate future undoubtedly looks bright, with a show this November booked at Shepherd’s Bush Empire - which one can only doff their hat to the 23-year-old taking the city by storm with the exploitation of her ‘unpolished edge’.
7/10
Nilüfer Yanya's debut LP, Miss Universe, is out now and can be found here.
Photos are courtesy of Cath Dupuy whose website can be found here: www.cathdupuyphotos.com
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