''My Method Actor'' is the third studio album by English singer

Nilüfer Yanya Nilüfer Yanya (; born 11 May 1995) is a British singer, songwriter and musician. Early life Yanya is the daughter of two visual artists. Her mother is of Irish and Barbadian heritage and her father is Turkish. Yanya said her mother lived in ...

, released on 13 September 2024 through

Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an independent record label based in London, with a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1990 by musicians Matt Black and Jonathan More, known collectively as Coldcut. The label was established as an outlet for Col ...

. It is Yanya's first album on the label, and follows her 2022 album '' Painless''. The album was preceded by the singles "Like I Say (I Runaway)", "Method Actor", "Call It Love", "Mutations", "Made Out Of Memory", and "Just A Western".

Background and recording

Yanya worked on the album with the producer Wilma Archer, and wrote and recorded it in London, Eastbourne, and Wales. Yanya called the album the "most intense ..in that respect. Because it's only been us two. We didn't let anyone else into the bubble." The album centres on the theme of "entering a transition between one part of life into another".

Critical reception

''My Method Actor'' was met with widespread acclaim reviews from critics. Matthew Schnipper of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' notes "On her third and best album, My Method Actor, she’s matured, found herself, chilled out—whatever you want to call it, it’s made her music more triumphant, less nervous. It’s an album that has the feel of everyday luxury, a collection of songs so assured that they feel like they always existed, and Yanya simply plucked them out of the air to give to you." John Amen of ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'' wrote, "If ''Painless'' exudes the magic of an artist discovering new plateaus, ''My Method Actor'' is a refinement of those now integrated proclivities".

Year-end lists

Track listing

Personnel

– lead vocals, design * Will Archer –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

, electric guitar (all tracks); acoustic guitar (tracks 1–7),

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

(1, 4), keyboards (1, 9), bass guitar (2, 3), backing vocals (2, 6–8, 10, 11), piano (3, 4, 6, 7),

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Sche ...

(3, 5), drums (5–7, 9, 10), synthesizer (7, 9),

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

(8, 10),

field recording Field recording is the production of audio recordings outside recording studios, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It can also include the recording of electromagnetic fields or vibrations using diff ...

(11) *

Matt Colton Matt Colton (born 30 March 1975) is an English mastering engineer and member of the mastering group of the Music Producers Guild. He has mastered recordings for artists such as Muse, Coldplay, James Blake, George Michael, Hot Chip, Gary Nu ...

– mastering,

lacquer Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be c ...

cut * Nathan Boddy – mixing * Ellis Dupuy – drums (track 3) * Joe Harvey-Whyte –

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

(tracks 3–5, 9) * Clíona Ní Choileáin –

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

(tracks 5, 7) * Dave Lynch – additional vocal

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

(tracks 1–9), drum engineering (3) * Molly Daniel – photography * Polly Mercher – make-up, hair * Tess Herbet – styling * Jenna Coombs – set styling

Charts

References

2024 albums Albums produced by Wilma Archer Nilüfer Yanya albums Ninja Tune albums {{2020s-album-stub