Miss Universe (album)

Miss Universe
Studio album by Nilüfer Yanya
Released	22 March 2019 (2019-03-22)
Recorded	January 2016 – October 2018
Studio	Press Play (London) Grow (London) Riverfish (Penzance, Cornwall) Studios in Los Angeles
Genre	Indie rock[1] soul[2] pop-rock[3] alternative rock[4]
Length	52:57
Label	ATO
Producer	Wilma Archer Oli Barton-Wood John Congleton MT Hadley Jazzi Bobbi Bastian Laengbaek Lucy Lu Dave Okumu
Nilüfer Yanya chronology
Do You Like Pain? (2018) Miss Universe (2019) Feeling Lucky? (2020)

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

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
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.8/10[7]
Metacritic	85/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Clash	9/10[10]
The Guardian	[11]
The Independent	[4]
Mojo	[12]
NME	[13]
The Observer	[14]
Pitchfork	8.3/10[3]
Q	[15]
Uncut	8/10[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.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"WWAY Health™"	Nilüfer Yanya Wilma Archer	Archer	0:59
2.	"In Your Head"	Yanya John Congleton	Congleton	3:28
3.	"Paralysed"	Yanya Archer	Archer	4:26
4.	"Angels"	Yanya Joe Dworniak	Oli Barton-Wood	3:56
5.	"Experience?"	Yanya Archer	Archer	1:07
6.	"Paradise"	Yanya Dworniak	Barton-Wood	3:58
7.	"Baby Blu"	Yanya Bastian Laengbaek	Laengbaek	4:41
8.	"Warning"	Yanya Archer	Archer	0:21
9.	"Heat Rises"	Yanya Dave Okumu	Okumu	3:26
10.	"Melt"	Yanya Barton-Wood	Barton-Wood	4:23
11.	""Sparkle" God Help Me"	Yanya Archer	Archer	1:32
12.	"Safety Net"	Yanya MT Hadley	Hadley	4:33
13.	"Tears"	Yanya Barton-Wood	Barton-Wood	3:16
14.	"Monsters Under the Bed"	Yanya	Congleton	4:13
15.	"The Unordained"	Yanya	Archer	3:22
16.	"Give Up Function"	Yanya Archer	Archer	0:41
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

Musicians Nilüfer Yanya – vocals, guitar (2–4, 6, 7, 10, 12–15, 17), keyboards (6, 10, 13), piano (4) Adam Pickrell – keyboards (2, 14) Wilma Archer – instrumentation (1, 3, 5, 8, 11, 15, 16), guitar (3, 15), bass guitar (3, 15), drums (3, 15) John Congleton – drum and bass programming (2, 14) Joey Waronker – drums (2, 14) Jake Long – drums (4) Oli Barton-Wood – keyboards (6, 10) Jazzi Bobbi – saxophone (6, 10, 17), backing vocals (17), keyboards (17), programming (17) Ellis Dupuy – drums (6, 10, 13, 17) Bastian Laengbaek – piano (7) Dave Okumu – guitar (9), instrumentation (9), vocals (9) MT Hadley – instrumentation (12), programming (12) Hal Robinson – bass guitar (13) Lucy Lu – bass guitar (17)

Technical personnel Wilma Archer – recording (1, 3, 5, 8, 11, 15, 16) John Congleton – recording (2, 14) Oli Barton-Wood – recording (4, 6, 10, 13) Bastian Laengbaek – recording (7) Dave Okumu – recording (9) MT Hadley – recording (12) Jazzi Bobbi – recording (17) Lucy Lu – recording (17) Andy Ramsay – recording (17) Nathan Boddy – recording (vocals on 3, 7, 9, 12, 15; pianos and guitars on 7), mixing, additional production Matt Colton – mastering Molly Daniel – photography

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.

External links

• Miss Universe at Discogs (list of releases)