Introducing Endless Mode: A New Games & Anime Site from Paste
William Faulkner is credited with coining a phrase all writers dread hearing: “Kill your darlings.” It’s a simple sentence but a big ask: Get rid of any part of your writing that doesn’t serve the story, however much you love what you’ve written. Ideally, this will leave you with the real heart of the project. While making the songs that would eventually become her acclaimed 2024 album My Method Actor, Londoner Nilüfer Yanya was forced to set aside darlings of her own. Sensing their potential, she reintroduced herself to those songs alongside her creative partner Wila Archer after the tour for My Method Actor ended. The time that lapsed between their creation and later reinvention allowed Yanya to nourish her darlings on a transformative new EP, Dancing Shoes.
“Kneel” lulls you in with its jangly interplay of eccentric rhythms. A tambourine and dampened snare set the foundation for driving guitar and bass—a compelling foursome that sashays with notes of indie pop, jazz, and R&B. Ethereal synths join the dance alongside Yanya’s raw vocals. At first pensive and untrusting, new harmonies signal a shift in the track—now vulnerable with its soft, sensual edge. Soon, “Kneel” takes on new layers as distorted guitars and soaring strings join in. The off-kilter rhythms grow more eccentric, but the percussion remains reserved, keeping you leaning in for more. As the song evolves into a full collage of sultry rhythms, backed by a searing exchange of guitars, it retains just the right amount of push and pull. Never quite resolving, the song only pulls you in deeper as it evolves.
“Kneel” might have an effortless allure with its ever-changing sound, but “Where to Look” grounds itself in a comparatively clean structure. Opening with a warm, pensive guitar, for a moment, you feel suspended in an acoustic realm, but an industrial drum kit brings you back down to earth. Nilüfer Yanya’s voice drifts effortlessly atop the unlikely fusion of sound, reflecting on the reality of a past relationship. “I wonder if all you needed was something to love?” she sings, the looped chords shifting lower with her melancholy. A sweeping synth bellies up to the sad dream, and as the instrumentals fall away in the chorus, the ballad intensifies. Yanya makes her feelings clear atop a now-emboldened guitar, and distorted guitars come in to envelop her vocals in a textured haze of grunge and shoegaze. Just as soon as it arrives, the soundscape shifts back from gritty to warm, the acoustic motif returning to provide a satisfying bookend.
The soft guitar-picking that ends “Where to Look” gives listeners a soft place to land on “Cold Heart,” as bright guitars ring out while Yanya wonders how she can feel so lonely “being held like that.” Harmonies come in to embolden her vulnerable lyrics, and the industrial drums reappear. At first muted behind the vocals and layered guitars, its presence increases as the chorus approaches. It’s here that the drums become so forward that they begin to overpower Yanya’s light vocal lines. Just as I’m straining to hear, Yanya’s vocals layer again, and the sound stacks up to the growing intensity of the drums. Perhaps this is by design: a reflection on someone becoming so lost in their rumination that they are overwhelmed by the pain. Soaring strings provide a brief interlude to her deep reflections as the song swells and eventually fades away.
“Treason” is a deviation from the industrial sounds of “Where to Look” and “Cold Heart.” A simple acoustic guitar and cajon bring a raw, vulnerable energy to the forefront, as Yanya laments being an imperfect person. It’s a refreshing change to hear Yanya’s vocals released from heavy waves of distortion. Some write off highly-produced songs as those obscuring a lack of substance. That is certainly not the case with Yanya, but it’s great to see her sound in a more natural form. While the song is rooted in acoustic elements, a retro ‘80s synthesizer swells in unexpectedly, and later a sweeping slide guitar and other percussive accents add intrigue. Though some of the instrumentals lack direction and feel lost, in the end, “Treason” remains an impressive meeting of the synthetic and acoustic worlds.
Dancing Shoes showcases Nilüfer Yanya’s acrobatic instrumental skills and her pull towards exploratory music. While other artists abide by sticky hooks and addictive choruses, Yanya’s appeal lies in her ability to let her songs develop—making each track feel alive as it unfolds and is satisfyingly balanced. Dancing Shoes has its fair share of scratchy, industrial embellishments, but Yanya puts herself at the core, so each song has a soft heart and spiky exterior. While the industrial drumming overpowers the songs’ stripped-back core at times, and some shaky synth embellishments lack the confidence to justify their presence, the songs on Dancing Shoes are a surprising and lush collection. Each of the four chapters bleeds into new genres and transforms along the way. That’s the beauty of giving your darlings some sitting time: you’re giving them the space to breathe.
