Miss Universe (album)

Miss Universe is the debut studio album by English indie rock singer Nilüfer Yanya, released on 22 March 2019 by ATO Records.[5]

Miss Universe
Studio album by
Released22 March 2019 (2019-03-22)
RecordedJanuary 2016 – October 2018
Studio
Genre
Length52:57
LabelATO
Producer
Nilüfer Yanya chronology
Do You Like Pain?
(2018)
Miss Universe
(2019)
Feeling Lucky?
(2020)

Background and composition

Miss Universe is Nilüfer Yanya's first full-length album. Yanya eschewed using any of her material from previous EPs, choosing instead to write an album using entirely new material, although some of the songs, such as "Monsters Under the Bed", had been written long beforehand.[6]

The album is interspersed with interludes featuring messages from "WWAY Health", voiced by Yanya, which are short monologues in the form of automated phone messages that intimate at an alienating healthcare bureaucracy, with sparse ethereal sounds in the background.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[7]
Metacritic85/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Clash9/10[10]
The Guardian[11]
The Independent[4]
Mojo[12]
NME[13]
The Observer[14]
Pitchfork8.3/10[3]
Q[15]
Uncut8/10[16]

Miss Universe received wide critical acclaim on its release,[6][13][17] with critics noting Yanya's ability to bounce back and forth between musical and lyrical styles, shifting between "gimlet-eyed composure and cataclysmic panic".[3] The album was described as nervous and restless, combining influences from indie rock to soul, jazz, and trip hop.[6][18] A Stereogum review called Yanya's voice "malleable and endlessly expressive", and described the song compositions as "minimal and instinctual".[5] Pitchfork ranked the album as one of the best of 2019 in their year end review.[19]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."WWAY Health™"Archer0:59
2."In Your Head"Congleton3:28
3."Paralysed"
  • Yanya
  • Archer
Archer4:26
4."Angels"
  • Yanya
  • Joe Dworniak
Oli Barton-Wood3:56
5."Experience?"
  • Yanya
  • Archer
Archer1:07
6."Paradise"
  • Yanya
  • Dworniak
Barton-Wood3:58
7."Baby Blu"
  • Yanya
  • Bastian Laengbaek
Laengbaek4:41
8."Warning"
  • Yanya
  • Archer
Archer0:21
9."Heat Rises"Okumu3:26
10."Melt"
  • Yanya
  • Barton-Wood
Barton-Wood4:23
11.""Sparkle" God Help Me"
  • Yanya
  • Archer
Archer1:32
12."Safety Net"
  • Yanya
  • MT Hadley
Hadley4:33
13."Tears"
  • Yanya
  • Barton-Wood
Barton-Wood3:16
14."Monsters Under the Bed"YanyaCongleton4:13
15."The Unordained"YanyaArcher3:22
16."Give Up Function"
  • Yanya
  • Archer
Archer0:41
17."Heavyweight Champion of the Year"Yanya
  • Jazzi Bobbi
  • Lucy Lu
4:42
Total length:52:57

Notes

  • Track 1 is stylised as "WWAY HEALTH™"
  • Track 11 is stylised as ""Sparkle" GOD HELP ME"

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Miss Universe
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 160

References

  1. Mylrea, Hannah (25 February 2019). "Nilüfer Yanya's debut album is a 'Black Mirror'-infused nightmare wrapped in lush indie-rock". NME. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  2. "Nilüfer Yanya – Miss Universe". Triple J. 24 March 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  3. Snapes, Laura (22 March 2019). "Nilüfer Yanya: Miss Universe". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  4. Smith, Patrick (21 March 2019). "Album reviews: Nilüfer Yanya – Miss Universe and Lucy Rose – No Words Left". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  5. Rettig, James (19 March 2019). "Album Of The Week: Nilüfer Yanya Miss Universe". Stereogum. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  6. Bray, Elisa (24 March 2019). "Nilüfer Yanya interview: 'I get imposter syndrome a lot'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  7. "Miss Universe by Nilüfer Yanya reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  8. "Miss Universe by Nilüfer Yanya Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  9. Monger, Timothy. "Miss Universe – Nilüfer Yanya". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  10. Hansen, Susan (20 March 2019). "Nilüfer Yanya – Miss Universe". Clash. Archived from the original on 20 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  11. Petridis, Alexis (14 March 2019). "Nilüfer Yanya: Miss Universe review – anxiety dreams from a true original". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  12. Worthy, Stephen (April 2019). "Nilüfer Yanya: Miss Universe". Mojo (305): 86.
  13. Mylrea, Hannah (22 March 2019). "Nilüfer Yanya – 'Miss Universe' review". NME. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  14. Morris, Damien (24 March 2019). "Nilüfer Yanya: Miss Universe review – hilariously talented". The Observer. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  15. Monroe, Jazz (May 2019). "Nilüfer Yanya: Miss Universe". Q (397): 116.
  16. Deusner, Stephen (April 2019). "Nilüfer Yanya: Miss Universe". Uncut (263): 39.
  17. Greenwood, Douglas (22 March 2019). "The Universe Belongs to Nilüfer Yanya". Noisey. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  18. Bromwich, Kathryn (11 June 2017). "One to watch: Nilüfer Yanya". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  19. "The 50 Best Albums of 2019". Pitchfork. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  20. "Ultratop.be – Nilüfer Yanya – Miss Universe" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
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