Nilüfer Yanya’s “Golden Cage” Won’t Be on the Radio, But It Will Rule Your Summer

London-based newcomer Nilüfer Yanya’s “Golden Cage” alternately pulses and floats on air. This is new music, post-post-punk, with some new wave guitar shimmer, the lazy vocal cadence of snotty young rappers, and hints of jazz wafting. The song is not a mess, though, it’s bright and abstract, with Yanya’s charmingly heavy British accent peaking out at points to weight the tune. Other times, she’s singing like she’s jumping through puddles. Most of the lyrics repeat many times, and she tries them each out in different cadences and pitches, like a drummer moving from tom to tom, cymbal to cymbal.

In the song’s video, Yanya picks up a pink rotary phone and sings into it while lying on a concrete block on a rooftop. Of course she’s wearing sunglasses through the whole thing. This is the kind of song you love to sing, sure, but it’s as much the kind of song you want to be. Effortless, friendly, and maybe a little punk, too. It’s easy to picture Yanya performing this onstage, a mouthful of bubblegum, chewing and singing with equal dedication.

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