Leeds’ Yard Act are one of the UK’s most hotly-tipped acts right now. The sudden rise of Yard Act during the pandemic isn’t something I think anybody could have expected. In less than three years, a band of anti-capitalist, sonic experimentalists became major label darlings during a time when the live music industry was nonexistent. On their debut full-length “The Overload”, they’ve managed to craft a distinct sound that’s refreshing enough that any comparison sounds a little farfetched but also recalls most eras of post-punk’s history at one point or another.
Go on the band…From: Leeds, UK, For fans of: Do Nothing, John Cooper Clarke
Yard Act will have you in stitches with their fiercely humorous lyricism which they couple with the catchiest post-punk grooves around.
You’re going to love them: “We’re gonna knock through the kitchen wall though, even though it is a lovely bit of Tudor”, Yard Act frontman James Smith stabs on one of 2020’s greatest indie singles ‘Fixer Upper’, it’s comedic genius as he assumes the role of a proud two homeowner disgruntled with the world around him. Going by the incisive and equally impacting other airings so far, this band are reinvigorating modern post-punk with a much-needed sense of humour.
The outlandish storytelling and deadpan delivery frontman James Smith transforms Yard Act from just another indie band to exciting propositions. Songs like “Fixer Upper”, “Peanuts” and “The Trapper’s Pelts” are satirical takes of life in West Yorkshire, neoliberalism, and a fictional obituary to a bloke called Graeme, all tightly delivered over unrelenting guitars and bass lines.
Many of the current successful indie rock and post-punk bands are still harkening back to the genre’s period of mainstream success in the 2000s. Yard Act definitely occupy a similar place in the genre to Black Country, New Road, Mush, or Black Midi in keeping the “post” in post-punk going through rampant experimentalism. However, Yard Act have songs that are more accessible to a mainstream audience than much of that scene.
Bill Ryder-Jones of The Coral and Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, Working Men’s Club) have both produced Yard Act tracks released this year, so they’re in very good hands.
The Fat Angel Sings 