Yard Act – 7th Level Music

Yard Act release new single, “Petroleum,” from upcoming “Where’s My Utopia?” album.

Today, Yard Act present their new single, “Petroleum,” another taste of their forthcoming second album, Where’s My Utopia?, out March 1st on Republic. The accompanying “Petroleum” video is a continuation of the prior James Slater-directed videos for “Dream Job” and “The Trench Coat Museum,” and stars friend of the band, comedian and creator of Starstruck, Rose Matafeo.

“Petroleum” lives on the second half of Where’s My Utopia?, which simultaneously contains some of Yard Act’s most grimly real and fantastically optimistic narratives yet. It was written after a touring nadir. “I lost it with the crowd in Bognor Regis and told them I was bored and I didn’t want to be there,” Yard Act’s frontman James Smith recalls. “Me and Ryan [Needham] had a row after, and Ryan rightly dressed me down for the way I acted. It got me pondering the idea that, now this is a job, what are the requirements of it? People think they want honesty but they don’t, they want me to portray the version of honesty that they’ve paid to see and that’s part of the illusion.”

Speaking about the ‘Petroleum’ video, Smith says: “‘Petroleum’ finds The Visitor as she stumbles into the hideout of a fearsome Biker gang called The Utopians. She’s still on the run from the H.G.E agents. It was a lot of fun shooting this video, and a joy to watch our friend Rose Matafeo bring the leader of The Utopians to life. Though the story isn’t being told in a linear format, I hope that the journey of The Visitor through the last three videos is starting to come together and reveal that we’re working on something bigger here. More to come!”

Rose Matafeo added: “I screen most of my phone calls, but when the phone flashes up ‘JAMES YARD ACT’ you’re gonna pick that up straight away. To feature in a Yard Act video has been on my bucket list ever since I added it to my bucket list after they asked me so I could have the satisfaction of crossing it off my bucket list. The overall vision for this album is so creatively ambitious and fun and cool and I’m so stoked to even be a little part of it. Sorry for my bad accent. Not sorry for the line dancing.”

Watch Yard Act’s “Petroleum” Video

Where’s My Utopia? follows Yard Act’s Mercury Prize shortlisted debut The Overload, “a debut album bursting with character” (Uncut), and was co-produced by Yard Act and Gorillaz member Remi Kabaka Jr. Written in snapshots of time in the midst of touring, the album is a giant leap forward into broad and playful new sonic waters, sprinkled with strings, choirs, and voice-acting clips courtesy of comedian pals Nish Kumar, Rose Matafeo, and more. Where’s My Utopia? is a communal four-way effort built on chemistry, familiarity and the trust to challenge and push each other creatively. “The main reason that ‘post-punk’ was the vehicle for Album One was because it was really affordable to do, but we always liked so much other music and this time we’ve had the confidence to embrace it,” James explains.

It’s a celebratory palette upon which Smith allowed himself to reach lyrically deeper into himself than ever. Gone, largely, are the outward-facing character studies of yore, replaced with a set of songs that stare fully into the headlights of life, wrangling with the frontman’s own fears and foibles to create a sort of Promethean narrative – but with jokes. This dueling sense of responsibility and ambition, guilt, love, drive and everything in between forms the narrative backbone of Where’s My Utopia?, Yard Act’s brilliantly exploratory second album. “You can commit to the idea that we’re just animals who eat and fuck and then we die, and that’s fine,” Smith suggests. “But for me, creativity always seems to be the best way of articulating the absolute minefield of what human existence is.”

Next year, Yard Act will embark on a tour of North America, Europe and the UK, including a hometown headline show at the 5,750 capacity Millennium Square Leeds. A full list of tour dates is below, and tickets are on sale now.

Pre-order Where’s My Utopia?

Watch “Dream Job” Video

Watch “The Trench Coat Museum” Video

Yard Act Tour Dates

Wed. Mar. 13 – Norwich, UK @ The Nick Rayns LCR (UEA)
Thu. Mar. 14 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
Fri. Mar. 15 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy
Sat. Mar. 16 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo
Sun. Mar. 17 – Newcastle, UK @ Northumbria University
Tue. Mar. 19 – Belfast, UK @ Mandela Hall
Wed. Mar. 20 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
Fri. Mar. 22 – Liverpool, UK @ Invisible Wind Factory
Sat. Mar. 23 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
Mon. Mar. 25 – Brighton, UK @ The Dome
Wed. Mar. 27 – London, UK @ Eventim Apollo
Thu. Apr. 4 – Nantes, FR @ Stereolux
Fri. Apr. 5 – Paris, FR @ Cabaret Sauvage
Sat. Apr. 6 – Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey
Mon. Apr. 8 – Lisbon, PT @ LAV
Tue. Apr. 9 – Madrid, ES @ Mon
Thu. Apr. 11 – Barcelona, ES @ La 2
Fri. Apr. 12 – Lyon, FR @ Le Transbordeur
Sat. Apr. 13 – Bologna, IT @ Locomotiv Club
Sun. Apr. 14 – Milan, IT @ Santeria Toscana 31
Tue. Apr. 16 – Zurich, CH @ Mascotte
Wed. Apr. 17 – Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
Thu. Apr. 18 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
Sat. Apr. 20 – Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan
Wed. Apr. 24 – Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich
Thu. Apr. 25 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Main Hall
Fri. Apr. 26 – Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
Sat. Apr. 27 – Cologne, DE @ Kantine
Sun. Apr. 28 – Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Botanique
Thu. May 30 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
Fri. May 31 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater
Sat. Jun. 1 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy and Harriet’s
Mon. Jun. 3 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium
Tue. Jun. 4 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Thu. Jun. 6 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Fri. Jun. 7 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
Sat. Jun. 8 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Sat. Aug. 3 – Leeds, UK @ Millenium Square

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Yard Act announces new single, album, and tour.

Leeds quartet Yard Act announce their new album, Where’s My Utopia?, out March 1st on Republic Records, and present its lead single/video, “Dream Job.” Co-produced by Yard Act and Gorillaz member Remi Kabaka Jr., Where’s My Utopia? follows the band’s debut, 2022’s The Overload, and this year’s much-lauded single “The Trench Coat Museum.” Additionally, Yard Act unveil a 2024 tour of North America, Europe and the UK (including a hometown headline show at the 5,750 capacity Millennium Square Leeds). A full list of tour dates is below, including the November US run just around the corner. West Coast Summer 2024 dates go on sale Oct. 27th at 10am local time and all other shows are on sale now.

Since the release of The Overload, “a debut album bursting with character” (Uncut), Yard Act – frontman and vocalist James Smith, bassist Ryan Needham, guitarist Sam Shjipstone, and drummer Jay Russell — have become one of the most exciting indie success stories of this decade. They’ve ticked off previously unimaginable milestones ranging from landing at Number Two on the UK charts, UK (Later … with Jools Holland) and US (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon) television debuts, being shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, and a co-sign from Elton John who joined the band to guest on a reworking of The Overload album closer, “100% Endurance.” They’ve spent the past two years traversing the globe, playing festivals from Tokyo to Texas, and selling out tour after tour along the way.

While the band’s trajectory continued to shoot upwards, and the brotherly bond between the four band members strengthened, Smith and his wife welcomed their first child. This dueling sense of responsibility and ambition, guilt, love, drive and everything in between forms the narrative backbone of Yard Act’s brilliantly exploratory second album, Where’s My Utopia?

Lead single, “Dream Job,” “feels like an apt introduction to the themes explored on Where’s My Utopia? — though not all encompassing,” comments Smith. “In part, I was scrutinizing and mocking myself for being a moaning ungrateful little brat, whilst also trying to address how the music industry is this rather uncontrollable beast that hurtles forward unthinkingly and every single person involved in it plays their part. Myself included, obviously. As with pretty much everything else going through my head last year, trying to find the right time to articulate the complexity of emotions I was feeling and the severity to which I was feeling them couldn’t be found – or accommodated, so instead I tried to capture it in a pop song that lasts less than three minutes once the fog had cleared a bit. It’s good and bad. I’m still glad that everything that happened to me happened.”

The song is wryly upbeat, and lands like The Blockheads doing “Club Tropicana” — a not entirely believable thumbs up from the trenches. The “Dream Job” video was directed by James Slater, marking the band and director’s 7th collaboration (“with many more to come”).

Watch Yard Act’s “Dream Job” Video

Written in snapshots of time in the midst of touring, Where’s My Utopia? is a giant leap forward into broad and playful new sonic waters, sprinkled with strings, choirs, and voice-acting clips courtesy of comedian pals Nish Kumar, Rose Matafeo, and more. It was a communal four-way effort built on chemistry, familiarity and the trust to challenge and push each other creatively. “The main reason that ‘post-punk’ was the vehicle for Album One was because it was really affordable to do, but we always liked so much other music and this time we’ve had the confidence to embrace it,” James explains. Across the record, influences range from Fela Kuti to Ennio Moricone via Spiller’s ‘00s pop smash “Groovejet.”

It’s a celebratory palette upon which Smith allowed himself to reach lyrically deeper into himself than ever. Gone, largely, are the outward-facing character studies of yore, replaced with a set of songs that stare fully into the headlights of life, wrangling with the frontman’s own fears and foibles to create a sort of Promethean narrative – but with jokes. “You can commit to the idea that we’re just animals who eat and fuck and then we die, and that’s fine,” he suggests. “But for me, creativity always seems to be the best way of articulating the absolute minefield of what human existence is.”

Pre-order Where’s My Utopia?

Yard Act Tour Dates
Thu. Nov. 2 – Reykjavik, IS @ Iceland Airwaves
Sat. Nov. 4 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
Sun. Nov. 5 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Mon. Nov. 6 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
Tue. Nov. 7 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
Thu. Nov. 9 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East
Fri. Nov. 10 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Sat. Nov. 11 – New Orleans, LA @ Toulouse Theatre
Tue. Nov. 14 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
Wed. Nov. 15 – Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Company
Fri. Nov. 17 – Mexico City, MX @ Corona Capital Festival
Sat. Dec. 2 – Bangkok, TH @ Maho Rasop Festival
Sun. Dec. 3 – Hong Kong, HK @ Clockenflap Festival
Tue. Dec. 5 – Osaka, JP @ Shangri-la
Thu. Dec. 7 – Tokyo, JP @ Club Quattro
Wed. Mar. 13 – Norwich, UK @ The Nick Rayns LCR (UEA)
Thu. Mar. 14 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
Fri. Mar. 15 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy
Sat. Mar. 16 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo
Sun. Mar. 17 – Newcastle, UK @ Northumbria University
Tue. Mar. 19 – Belfast, UK @ Mandela Hall
Wed. Mar. 20 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
Fri. Mar. 22 – Liverpool, UK @ Invisible Wind Factory
Sat. Mar. 23 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
Mon. Mar. 25 – Brighton, UK @ The Dome
Wed. Mar. 27 – London, UK @ Eventim Apollo
Thu. Apr. 4 – Nantes, FR @ Stereolux
Fri. Apr. 5 – Paris, FR @ Cabaret Sauvage
Sat. Apr. 6 – Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey
Mon. Apr. 8 – Lisbon, PT @ LAV
Tue. Apr. 9 – Madrid, ES @ Mon
Thu. Apr. 11 – Barcelona, ES @ La 2
Fri. Apr. 12 – Lyon, FR @ Le Transbordeur
Sat. Apr. 13 – Bologna, IT @ Locomotiv Club
Sun. Apr. 14 – Milan, IT @ Santeria Toscana 31
Tue. Apr. 16 – Zurich, CH @ Mascotte
Wed. Apr. 17 – Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
Thu. Apr. 18 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
Sat. Apr. 20 – Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan
Wed. Apr. 24 – Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich
Thu. Apr. 25 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Main Hall
Fri. Apr. 26 – Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
Sat. Apr. 27 – Cologne, DE @ Kantine
Sun. Apr. 28 – Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Botanique
Thu. May 30 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
Fri. May 31 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater
Sat. Jun. 1 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy and Harriet’s
Mon. Jun. 3 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium
Tue. Jun. 4 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Thu. Jun. 6 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Fri. Jun. 7 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
Sat. Jun. 8 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Sat. Aug. 3 – Leeds, UK @ Millenium Square

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll be in utopia if you subscribe.]

[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Top 20 albums of 2022: #’s 5 – 1

Here we are at the top five albums I reviewed in 2022. It was a great year for music, and these are what stood out for me among all the good stuff out there.

#5: Jacques Greene – Fantasy

As I’ve mentioned before, 2022 was a great year for electronic music, and this EP from Jacques Greene topped my list of that kind of music. It mixes house, drum and bass, ambient, and a bit of synth wave into a luscious brew.

#4: The Staples Jr. Singers – When Do We Get Paid

This reissue of classic gospel funk tracks by The Staples Jr. Singers is stunning. The amount of groove and friskiness in these songs is almost overwhelming. The instrumentation and harmonizing are outstanding, and there’s enough soul for two churches.

#3: Yard Act – The Overload

This is the best post-punk album I heard all year. Everything on it is razor sharp: the wit, the guitar angles, the grooves, the drum sounds, and the slightly snarled tongue-in-cheek vocals.

#2: The Black Angels – Wilderness of Mirrors

The Black Angels‘ new album was a great return for them. It explores the stress of modern times through walls of distorted guitars, reverb-laden vocals, powerful drums, and mind-warping sound. The Black Angels have yet to put out a bad record, but this one somehow set the bar even higher for psych-bands to follow.

#1: A Place to Bury Strangers – See Through You

A Place to Bury Strangers came back with a new lineup and some of Oliver Ackermann‘s most revealing lyrics about the end of friendships, loneliness, grief, over-reliance on technology, and the overall anxiety everyone’s been feeling since 2019. Ackermann put it all out there and walloped us with more honesty and distortion that you can almost stand.

Let’s look forward to a great 2023!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe.]

Review: Yard Act – The Overload

Coming out of the 2022 gate with strong chops and wit, Yard Act‘s The Overload has already set the bar high for post-punk albums (and ones in other genres, for that matter) to come.

The title track opens the record with a breakneck dance bass riff from Ryan Needham while lead singer James Smith sings about “The overload of discontent…The constant burden of making sense. It won’t relent.” Good grief, is he right. “Dead Horse” is a punch at Brexit and racism in England (“England, my heart bleeds. Why’d you abandon me? Yeah, I abandoned you, too, but we both know I wasn’t the one lied to, and I’m not scared of people who don’t look like me, unlike you.”)

“Payday” and “Rich” are a nice double-punch, both with crunchy guitar by Sam Shjipstone. “Payday” is all about getting rich on the efforts of others and getting away with it. “Rich” is a witty track about how wealth often brings misery and / or desire to become richer despite having everything you need.

“The Incident” seems to have Smith, Needham, Shjipstone, and drummer Jay Russell almost each playing their own song, but it somehow works and produces a funny tune about the different set of rules for CEOs and VIPs, even though their reputation and worth is built on illusions (“We’ve created rules that you can’t find in the book, a different type of prison for a different type of crook. Ever since the incident, my complete incompetence has been exposed to everyone and rendered me irrelevant.”)

“Witness (Can I Get a?)” is a fun punk riff on trying to get people to agree with whatever you’re yelling about at the time. “Land of the Blind” is a song about graft played with beats great for walking your dog, strutting to the ring, or working the catwalk. “Quarantine the Sticks” takes on both bad police and corporate practices. It reminds me of some of Sleaford Mods‘ stuff in its delivery and message.

“Tall Poppies” might have the hardest-hitting lyrics on the entire record as Smith spins a tale of a good joe who has a decent life and dies in his nice home, knowing he had a good run. It’s an allegory for everyone trying to make do with the hand they’ve been dealt and make the world a bit better in their own way (“We cry because children are dying across the sea, and there is nothing we can do about it. Whilst we benefit from the bombs they dropped, which we had no part in building. We are sorry, truly we are sorry. We are just trying to get by, too.”)

“Pour Another” has some of Russell’s coolest beats while Smith sings about pals kicking back with a few pints while the world burns around them. “100% Endurance” has Smith telling all of us to tell everyone we love that we love them and all of us have the means within to be happy (“Everything has already happened. Time is an illusion. It’s hippie bullshit, but it’s true.”)

A neat thing about The Overload is that it doesn’t overload you. It delivers all the goods, yes, and plenty of bite and beats, but it doesn’t hammer you over the head or try so hard that Yard Act become self-parodies or annoying. In other words, they crafted a damn fine album.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]

Yard Act releases “Rich” ahead of full album due January 21st.

The buzzing Leeds band Yard Act are preparing to release their highly anticipate debut The Overload later this month (Jan 21st) via Island Records and their own imprint Zen F.C., and today they are sharing their final single from the album, a track called “Rich.” The album arrives following a banner year for the band, and the excitement around them has continued to heat up at the start of 2022. Following a late 2021 appearance on Later…w/ Jools Holland, Elton John called Yard Act one of his favorite new bands in an NME feature (he described their sound as “a different ball game“), the band were named an NPR Slingshot artists for 2022 with NPR proclaiming that “Yard Act will be 2022’s breakthrough English post-punk act“, saw features in Rolling Stone and The Guardian, and their album has received some glowing early reviews including 5* reviews from Rolling Stone UK and DIY Magazine, 4.5* stars from Uncut, 4* and the coveted album of the month award from MOJO.

WATCH: Yard Act’s “Rich” video HERE

Speaking about the new track, which follows the November single “Payday“, frontman James Smith explains: “‘Rich’ is the natural successor to ‘Payday’. That’s the end of the story right? Success! Status! Security! Except, there’s always more money to be made, and you’re deemed a failure if your life starts to head back in the direction it came from. It’s about being so lost you’re sure you know exactly where you are and how you got there. I also wrote it because I thought it would be quite funny if Yard Act made a shit ton of money after I’d written an anti-capitalist concept album. It’ll be funny if I’m singing this song on stage when I’ve made my mint.”

He elaborates: “At worst it makes no sense, at best it comes off as pretentious, but that’s the point I’m trying to make when I write anything really. Things only really make sense if you exclude the bits that don’t back up the point you’re trying to make. I’m a hypocrite just like everyone else. I don’t have the answers and I’m just trying to do the best I can. It’ll never be good enough though. Enjoy the ride, life is short and you never know what’s round the corner.”

The accompanying video is the band’s fourth collaboration with director James Slater and his production team, following ‘The Overload’, ‘Land Of The Blind’, and ‘Payday’ and further develops the world Yard Act have created and the characters that exist within it.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]

Yard Act encourage us to take the money and run on their new single – “Payday.”

Excitement just keeps building behind the Leeds band Yard Act ahead of the release debut LP, The Overload,which is due out via Island Records and their own imprint Zen F.C. on the recently revised release date of January 21st. The album follows a collection of early singles released in 2020 and early 2021, that immediately caught on in their home country, earning accolades from outlets like The Guardian, NME and Loud & Quiet, and creating a stir in the US, earning praise from outlets like NPR, Stereogum, Paste and Under The Radar, who designated them a band to watch in 2021. The band’s hot streak has continued apace, recently garnering the support of high profile fans in Elton John and Cillian Murphy, selling out a run of shows, appearing on the soundtrack to the latest FIFA game, and performing their album’s title track on Later…w/ Jools Holland.

Following on the heels of “The Land of The Blind,” the band are sharing a new track and video “Payday”.

WATCH: Yard Act’s “Payday” video HERE

Speaking about the new single, Smith explains: “‘Payday’ was one of the few tracks on the record we had to rebuild completely in the studio because the first demo was recorded on my computer and the hard drive corrupted. We spent about TWO hours trying to figure out that stupid keyboard part I’d put on it and couldn’t remember how to play. It was boring but worth it. It’s about gentrification, class fetish and how the human brain is so powerful that with enough time and processing power combined it will be able to justify, defend and/or continue to commit the actions of any human being it controls.”

The accompanying video is the band’s third collaboration with director James Slater and his production team, following “The Overload” and “Land Of The Blind”, and further develops the world Yard Act have created and the characters that exist within it. Smith says: “We wanted to do something less location and narrative based for this video, so an infinity white studio served as the perfect purgatory for an anti capitalist anthem funded by a major record label. It was great to get Kayleigh from ‘The Overload’ car boot shoot back with her friends, and they choreographed a brilliant dance routine for it themselves, which really brings the video to life. It’s also nice to finally be able to explain all the lettuces that kept cropping up in the previous videos.”

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]

Yard Act warn of “Dark Days” with new single.

Emerging Leeds outfit Yard Act have today shared their new single “Dark Days” – out via their own Zen F.C. label. Following their debut 7” Fixer Upper / The Trapper’s Pelts, which sold out its entire 500 copy pressing on the day of release, the band announced the Dark Days / Peanuts double A-side yesterday and sold out 1000 copies in just under 2 hours. In signature Yard Act fashion, “Dark Days” propels frontman James Smith’s striking social observations forward along with steadfast guitar lines and jutting rhythms. Recorded in the same session as “Peanuts” with Ross Orton, “Dark Days” rounds off the opening chapter of Yard Act’s strange lockdown existence before they head off to record their debut album.

LISTEN: to Yard Act’s “Dark Days” on YouTube

Smith explains: “With ‘Dark Days’ I wrote the first verse and chorus hook quite fast but then I didn’t know how to finish it. The demo Ryan sent was ace, real sparse. The drums were really driven but the bassline felt like it was suspended mid air in the verses, like a dub bassline or something. It created the illusion that you have time to stop and look around amidst the ensuing chaos. It’s like in war films when all the noise stops and you just hear the protagonist heavy breathing whilst they survey their surroundings in slow motion. Then the chorus hit with this ‘Captain Caveman’ vibe, it reminded me of that stop-motion cartoon from the 90’s ‘GOGS’ if anyone remembers that? I liked the juxtaposition of the bleak world with the cartoon bass line.”

“Despite all the advances humanity has made, the threat of devolving feels increasingly possible in the modern world, and on my bad days when I’m spiralling I can’t help but get trapped in my own head envisioning this post-apocalyptic future we’re seemingly headed toward, so fuck knows why I decided to watch ‘Children of Men’ when I was feeling like that. If I’d fully remembered what happened in it, I don’t think I would’ve in the middle of a pandemic, but I did, and I actually came away feeling really uplifted by the ending. I saw hope in it, and it helped me finish the story.”

Yard Act formed in Leeds in late 2019 when Ryan Needham found himself temporarily living in James Smith’s spare bedroom. The two had been pub associates for years, but their new living circumstances served as a catalyst for their friendship and creative partnership which saw them fuse James’ interest in spoken word with Ryan’s primitive proto-punk demos using an ancient drum machine and borrowed bass guitar.

Yard Act’s rise since arriving in March 2020 with debut track “The Trapper’s Pelts” has been nothing short of extraordinary, even without the opportunity to showcase their incendiary live set. Their first releases last year proved an instant hit with national newspapers (The Observer, The Times, The Independent, and The Guardian) and radio stations (BBC Radio 6 Music (“Fixer Upper” and “Peanuts” were both daytime playlisted), BBC Radio 1 and Radio X) alike. The band rounded off 2020 with spots on the NME 100, Dork HYPE List, The Daily Star ‘Ones to Watch 2021’, Gigwise ‘21 for 21’, and Selector Radio’s ‘New Wave Artists 2021’. Single ‘Fixer Upper’ landed on Loud & Quiet and So Young Magazine’s ‘Tracks of the Year’, while “Peanuts” earned a place as BBC Introducing West Yorkshire Track of the Week, as well as being playlisted at NME, So Young, and The Independent alongside appearing on the cover of ‘The Punk List’ and ‘Hot New Bands’ at Spotify.

“Dark Days” is out now on Zen F.C. It is available here

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll have dark days if you don’t subscribe.

[Thanks to Tom at Hive Mind PR.]