Miss Universe is the debut studio album by the English indie rock singer Nilüfer Yanya, released on 22 March 2019 by ATO Records.
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.
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 an alienating healthcare bureaucracy, with sparse ethereal sounds in the background.
Critical reception
Miss Universe received wide critical acclaim on its release, with critics noting Yanya's ability to bounce back and forth between musical and lyrical styles, shifting between "gimlet-eyed composure and cataclysmic panic". The album was described as nervous and restless, combining influences from indie rock to soul, jazz, and trip hop. A Stereogum review called Yanya's voice "malleable and endlessly expressive", and described the song compositions as "minimal and instinctual". Pitchfork ranked the album as one of the best of 2019 in their year end review.
Track listing
Notes Track 1 is stylised as "WWAY HEALTH™" Track 11 is stylised as ""Sparkle" GOD HELP ME"
Personnel
Musicians Nilüfer Yanya – vocals, guitar , keyboards , piano Adam Pickrell – keyboards Wilma Archer – instrumentation , guitar , bass guitar , drums John Congleton – drum and bass programming Joey Waronker – drums Jake Long – drums Oli Barton-Wood – keyboards Jazzi Bobbi – saxophone , backing vocals , keyboards , programming Ellis Dupuy – drums Bastian Laengbaek – piano Dave Okumu – guitar , instrumentation , vocals MT Hadley – instrumentation , programming Hal Robinson – bass guitar Lucy Lu – bass guitar
Technical personnel Wilma Archer – recording John Congleton – recording Oli Barton-Wood – recording Bastian Laengbaek – recording Dave Okumu – recording MT Hadley – recording Jazzi Bobbi – recording Lucy Lu – recording Andy Ramsay – recording Nathan Boddy – recording , mixing, additional production Matt Colton – mastering Molly Daniel – photography
Charts + Chart performance for Miss Universe Chart (2019) Peakposition
References
External links