“The Leeds post-punk quartet embrace the prospects of experimental failure and, in turn, come away with a resounding, charismatic and dance-heavy sophomore LP.”
“Leeds four-piece Yard Act made one of 2022’s most assured debuts in The Overload, although its debt to the Fall was hard to ignore, in terms of both its post-punk dynamics and frontman James Smith’s delivery. His sprechgesang vocals still take centre stage, but this time his lyrics are more self-reflective, most notably on Down By the Stream, an arresting rumination on his past as a school bully: ”
““I attained perfection / So why the fuck was I still wondering what wankers would think of album two?” murmurs James Smith, Yard Act’s inimitable frontman. It’s the concluding remark on ‘Blackpool Illuminations’, a seven-minute spoken-word tale that vividly recounts trips to the seaside town with his parents, eventually juxtaposed against those with his own child. Indeed, this “perfection” he refe”
“It’s said that you have a lifetime to write your first record, but only 12 months to write the follow-up. Because of this, many groups start to second-guess themselves with album number two, throwing everything at a wall in the hope that something sticks. This is exactly what Yard Act have done with Where’s My Utopia?. The Leeds group’s second long player drips with experimentation. While the ang”
“On their second album, the UK post-punks embrace a more playful, dynamic sound, while acerbic frontman James Smith trades caricature for self-reflection.”
“Going into their second album, Yard Act were faced with a problem: how do you prove you're a Serious Band without losing your sense of humour? It's a dilemma that's bedeviled everyone from the B-52s and the Presidents of the United States of America to Art Brut and the Darkness, bands that dared to bake fun with a flash of heaviness into their tunes. Some have handled it better than others. It's ”
