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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
Where previous records such as Miss Universe and 2021’s Inside Out were sparse, Yanya’s excellent new album, PAINLESS, marks an evolution into a much fuller songwriter.
91
PAINLESS finds the UK singer in heartbreakingly strong form, delivering a dozen tracks in what's quickly becoming her signature style.
90
It’s rare you are compensated for your emotional pains but appreciating the full depth of PAINLESS is a bittersweet, beautiful token. The album is wrapped in vocals and harmonies that are essentially audible salted caramel and an exhilarating variation of styles, so don’t be intimated. Dive in.
7mo
90
PAINLESS is a step forward from the excellent Miss Universe and will delight fans and new listeners alike. It's the kind of album you can listen to on repeat and discover new joys on each listen.
90
There was a lot of pre-release hype to PAINLESS and on this occasion the actual album is fully deserving.
85
It’s the sheer power of her songwriting and her intricate arrangements that leave you dazzled and in no doubt that Yanya is a songwriter and musician of immense talent for whom the sky’s the limit.
84
Patience. Stability. Dealing. Trying. It speaks to everyone on every level, and it’s precisely the kind of message the world needs.
84
The singer-songwriter’s striking second album excels at a kind of subtle disclosure, relying less on power than it does texture and immaculately sparing detail.
80
The London songwriter roots the sound of her accomplished second album in classic alt-rock, its beautiful melodies contrasting with mysteriously bleak vignettes.
80
In her most purposeful work yet, the singer-songwriter has tightened up the nuts and bolts and shaken off the excess. Unafraid to linger on darker moments, ‘PAINLESS’ refines the standout qualities of her debut and reinvents them with a new sheen.
80
As opposed to the more pop-influenced sounds in Miss Universe, Yanya relies on tougher instrumentation to portray inner turmoil. But PAINLESS doesn’t sit still with its struggles, instead finding ways to break free.
80
With a hand-around-your-throat kind of urgency, ‘PAINLESS’ feels like the purest form of poetry: raw and inescapable.
80
Despite the record’s immersive qualities, the overwhelming effect is as satisfying as a plaster being ripped right off.
80
Unlike her earlier jazz-fuelled work, Painless favours 90s grunge and infusions of hip-hop, dance and the plucked saz of Turkish folk. And, as ever, Yanya’s voice is her greatest instrument.
80
The Londoner’s second is more inward-looking than her conceptual debut, its emotive lyrics lending themselves to a more tightly focused musical palette.
80
It’s a confident return, one that pits her dreamy, sonorous elements against a willingness to experiments, and absorb other voices and approaches into her own.
80
The second album from this U.K. singer-songwriter is a beguiling good time, slipping between genres and moods with speedy ease, like an entire season rushing by in a lovely blur.
80
The power of PAINLESS is its willingness to stand in the eye of that unseen hurricane, submerging itself in disorientation and contradiction and unknowing.
80
The follow-up to Nilüfer Yanya's debut album, Painless finds the London-based artist exploring more ethereal territory.
80
Crunchy, ethereal, and odd in its harsh beauty, PAINLESS is a record of contradictions that Yanya spectacularly weaves together.
80
A true representation of its creator; simultaneously delicate, fierce, vulnerable and fiery.
80
What she's gained in the process is more focus and confidence, and as PAINLESS proves, an intriguing foreshadow of things to come.
70
Nilüfer Yanya delivers a sophomore album with a bit more focus than her debut.
70
PAINLESS is an amalgamation of ‘90s music that coagulates indie rock, trip-hop and post-punk. It’s a melting pot with traces of other artists across its dozen tracks.
70
If PAINLESS is less ambitious and attention-grabbing than her debut, it sees Yanya makes strides in being more affecting.
60
It doesn’t always feel like Nilüfer’s attention has been on making a fresh attempt to mangle pop as inventively and freely as she has before, but the skills she has mastered over the course of her career are on impressive display.
60
On her second full-length, the artist focuses on Nirvana-style murk and jerky, Bloc Party style post-punk, with frequent glimmers of brilliance.
60
For the follow-up, Yanya opts for a more direct, controlled approach, losing some of that album's bracing sense of pell-mell overspill but gaining in confidence.
60
The results are initially uncertain, but across songs as confidently shaped as Trouble, Chase Me, Shameless and Belong with You (and pretty much the rest) early lingering doubts disappear in vapour trails of unwavering appeal.
60
The problem is that the beats are too often too relentless – they don’t drop out or shift often enough.
On "Painless", Nilufer shifts into high gear by opening her heart like she has never done before. This second album paints in a delicate introspection the mirror of a youth lost in uncertainty and trying to find its place in the world
Business and music are often very closely linked, it's rare to have artists or producers who do pure charity or just provide for their living needs. Let's not be so naive to believe it. The power of producers and investors has always ruled artists ... read more
Thursday Quickie: Nilufer Yanya - Painless
Hello AOTY, since I’ve developed quite a following over the past few weeks I’ve been attempting to pump out quality reviews at a substantial rate. However, I’ve been dissatisfied with my output as of late, particularly with regard to newer album releases. Consequently, I’ve considered a solution: Thursday Quickies (yes I see the innuendo, it’s intentional ;)). Essentially, before new music Friday, I will drop a ... read more
I regret that this record only has several truly remarkable songs but its positive qualities far outweigh any misgivings there could be.
Best: the dealer, stabilise, midnight sun
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Track List
| 1 | the dealer 3:38 | 84 |
| 2 | L/R 3:39 | 77 |
| 3 | shameless 4:34 | 81 |
| 4 | stabilise 3:32 | 84 |
| 5 | chase me 3:30 | 76 |
| 6 | midnight sun 4:42 | 89 |
| 7 | trouble 5:04 | 80 |
| 8 | try 4:10 | 79 |
| 9 | company 3:46 | 73 |
| 10 | belong with you 2:56 | 80 |
| 11 | the mystic 3:33 | 79 |
| 12 | anotherlife 3:23 | 78 |
Total Length: 46 minutes
Year End Lists
| #3 | / | BrooklynVegan |
| #4 | / | Beats Per Minute |
| #5 | / | No Ripcord |
| #6 | / | The New York Times: Lindsay Zoladz |
| #6 | / | Under the Radar |
| #7 | / | Piccadilly Records |
| #8 | / | Vulture |
| #10 | / | Consequence of Sound |
| #10 | / | The Guardian |
| #11 | / | OOR |
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Added on: November 9, 2021