Yard Act follow their debut with ‘Where’s My Utopia?’
We Make Hits: Yard Act prove once again that they can turn witty British humour into yet another iconic masterpiece.
Photo: Phoebe Fox
Imagine if your favourite pub philosophers formed a band, swapped pints of Pilsner for instruments and decided to soundtrack the chaos of everyday life with a generously healthy dose of dry British humour. Meet Yard Act – the band you never knew you needed.
Yard Act is a post-punk band of brothers from Leeds, West Yorkshire. Known for their sharp witty humour, social commentary and infectious melodies. Led by vocalist James Smith, Yard Act’s lyrics dissect the chaos and confusion of everyday life, addressing topics such as political apathy, media manipulation and, of course, existential dread. With a generous blend of wit, intelligence and raw energy, these Yorkshire boys deliver a bold and uncompromising voice in today’s tumultuous world.
The much-awaited album, Where’s My Utopia, captures the disillusion and yearning for a better world for contemporary society. The album serves as a raw and unfiltered commentary on the state of the world, delivered through a blend of sharp lyricism, infectious hooks and of course, that renowned British humour.
From the opening track An Illusion, Yard Act waste no time in establishing their iconic sound. The songs driving hooks and pulsating drums provide the perfect backdrop for James Smith’s melodic and relatable lyrics, which delve into the band’s older history of pessimism. We Make Hits comes next and tells us a story of the band’s origin story about how they’ve come to fame, all whilst making a subtle dig at themselves. The song itself states that if their song isn’t a hit “we were being ironic”.
Dream Job delves into how shocking it is to get anywhere within the music industry – spoiler, it’s crap! Smith uses the song to almost convince himself that the industry is easy and through the lyricism he successfully fails. The song overall is driven by the funky percussion and bassline, which creates a feel-good vibe to the piss-poor situation that is, of course, the music industry.
Petroleum is a bass-driven driven track and is the inspiration to the album’s cover which portrays a skeleton engulfed in flames on what looks like a dessert island in an alternative universe. The album is finalised with, in my opinion, one of the greatest narratives to date. Blackpool Illuminations comes as a hefty 7-minute track that explores the brotherly bond that the boys have with one another. The track is a story of the beloved seaside town Blackpool in the North West which many people will relate to in someway – for me, this was a childhood trip that I took, and still take to this day.
Overall, Yard Act have once again delivered a spectacular album for the world to see and they are “Ace! Top! Mint! And indeed boss!”.
Where’s My Utopia? is out now via Universal Music.