8/10

Some albums feel like a diary. Others, like a séance. While 'Shapeshifter', the debut full-length from Seattle’s YEARN (aka Lily Minke Tahar), is both, a raw, spectral transmission of self-rediscovery stitched together with jazz-wired intuition and lo-fi magic.

Tahar, formerly releasing under the name Minke, channels something deeply personal here, not just in the lyrics or subject matter, but in the textures themselves. Born from feverish nights and the presence of a haunting, these tracks are snapshots of psychological metamorphosis, captured mid-moult.

Built on a skeletal setup, including a cheap amp, a $30 mic, and a spirit that refused to sit still, the record wades through time and genre like memory surfacing in fragments. Field recordings brush up against processed string glitches, detuned chords warp around shimmering synths, and found sounds take the place of polish. Each track feels intimate in the way a bedroom might after a long cry, or a good dream you don’t want to wake from.

The title-track emerges like a slow incantation, swirling with off-kilter percussion and ghostly harmonies that feel both ancient and futuristic. Elsewhere, 'Midnight Mine' blends glitched-out production with smoky vocal delivery, like wandering through an abandoned jazz club in a dreamscape. And then there’s 'dtl', which swings between cosmic disorientation and grounded emotional clarity with fearless fluidity.

But what makes 'Shapeshifter' so compelling is the palpable sense of risk. Tahar doesn’t aim to impress; she’s documenting the moment before becoming. The production is tactile, imperfect, and alive. It’s music that makes space for vulnerability without turning it into performance.

This is not a record that seeks resolution. It doesn’t tidy itself up for easy listening, nor does it try to hold your hand. But if you lean in, 'Shapeshifter' offers one of the most unfiltered portraits of personal evolution you’ll hear this year. It’s art made in the messy middle, where identities collide, healing begins, and the shape of what’s next is still trembling into view.