YEULE Vinyl & CDs

Review: On their third LP, British-Singaporean singer-songwriter Nat Cmiel is moving in a new direction - not only with a move from Bayonet Records to Ninja Tune, but also favouring a guitar-led indie rock sound, a departure from the critically acclaimed 'Serotonin II' and Danny L Harle produced 'Glitch Princess'. Lead single 'sulky baby' is a bright affair, distorted guitars circling Yeule's brand of gloomy lyrics sang with a smile. 'dazies' gets off the mark with a killer electric guitar lead, giving way to a plucked ambience with a computerised Nat ringing off a word association of a person kicked to the curb. When Kin Leonn isn't working their production magic, Yeule's self-production breaks the space. 'fish in the pool' is an ambient piano interlude with light-as-a-feather vocal adlibs, something that wouldn't be out of place in a Studio Ghibli production.

Review: Hailing from Singapore and with a vivid and curious artistic identity swirling around them, Nat Cmiel releases their latest album as yeule in a swirl of hypermodern synth pop. There's a dreamy, slightly sad quality to Cmiel's songs, but that only adds to their charm as those sweet melodic refrains get under your skin. This latest album on Bayonet is called Glitch Princess - a fitting title for an artist who seems so vitally defined by the internet age. When so many fear the future and our tense relationship with technology, yeule appears to be OK with the state of play, recognising the flaws but embracing the positives as we slip into a digital way of being.