Posted by Almost two years after her extraordinary debut record, Nilüfer Yanya has skyrocketed back onto the scene with new EP ‘Feeling Lucky?’.
Those fluent in Internet speak will notice the quaint reference to Google’s somewhat-forgotten ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’. Even if unintentional, this is a cute nod to a feature that is more of a quirk than anything else. Indeed, it would be surprising if this was unintentional, seeing as the chorus of lead single ‘Crash’ highlights the lyric “If you ask me one more question/I’m about to crash”. It’s this discordant sensation of 90s inspired noise rock and entirely modern themes that gives Nilüfer Yanya her trademark style – her debut album, ‘Miss Universe’, featured spoken-word tracks telling tales of a Black Mirror- esque healthcare robot.
‘Crash’ is a heavy, no-holding-back track stuffed to the brim with buzzy guitars and powerful vocals. It’s a sharp introduction to the EP, announcing that Nilüfer is here and she’s not going away without a fight. As we dive deeper into the record, we fight with finding life overwhelming on second track ‘Same Damn Luck’. It’s a track that is trembling with the pain of hyper- connectivity, feeling that you can’t ever escape reality because it’s right there at your fingertips.
How can we stay in touch when everyone is parading themselves online? Final track ‘Day 7.5093’ is reminiscent of ‘90s indie basslines and furthers this idea of losing control – Nilüfer, on this record, is permanently battling with spiralling into chaos and losing herself in the hyper-connected hum of everyone speaking but no one really listening.
‘Feeling Lucky?’ is a pensive, conscious EP that pulls musical elements from the decades gone before us, whilst hosting lyrical themes of destructive modernism. Nilüfer is empowered on this record, knowing what she wants to say and saying it like she’s holding it on a placard above her head.
7/10
Words: Erin Bashford
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