Nilüfer Yanya’s song “Binding” begins with a simple drum loop, gradually giving way to a stripped-down guitar riff that slowly and hypnotically draws the listener in. Her voice joins a few seconds later, intoning lyrics that loosely follow a character driving dazedly nowhere, “Driving too fast/Vacant and glass-eyed/Not coming back/Down from the hills.”
Binding is perhaps the most devastating track off of Yanya’s newest album, “My Method Actor,” released on Sept. 13 through Matt Black’s independent record label Ninja Tune.
The emotional core of the song comes from Yanya’s lived experiences. Still, the particulars are the result of her songwriting process: a mixture of the aforementioned method acting, referenced in the album’s title, and an intuition-driven approach to creation. “I didn’t choose a subject matter if that makes sense.
That part just has to naturally appear from the songs,” Yanya shared with City Lights producer Jacob Smulian in a recent conversation.
“My Method Actor” is Yanya’s third LP release, and one that has been met with near-universal acclaim from music critics.
