Yard Act’s new album deals with the “misery and problems” of success
Yard Act say their second album is about the consequences of success and “realising that the misery and problems still exist all the same”.
The Leeds band, who released their debut album, The Overload, in 2021, are yet to officially announce details of their next LP but are expected to share the record later this year. Speaking to NME, frontman James Smith explained: “It’s an album about getting everything you ever wanted and realising that the misery and problems still exist all the same. It’s an album about being away from my family and being in a professional band for a job – which sounds like really boring subject matter, doesn’t it?”
Bassist Ryan Needham claimed it’s a “large stride for us, musically” and put this down to remixing other artists. He added: “James’ voice and lyrics stamp it as a Yard Act album, but we’re pretty free beyond that.”
Smith noted: “Part of the first album’s charm is that we didn’t overthink any of it. I’d put effort into everything my entire creative life and yielded poor results, so for the first time I just didn’t expect anything from this or put much into it, and it turned out to be ace. I didn’t want to repeat the formula of that, so this time it’s a much more crafted and meticulous piece. Everyone has worked equally on it. It’s been the most fruitful and enjoyable thing I’ve done creatively.”
In a four-star review of a recent performance by Yard Act at Leeds Brudenell Social Club, Far Out wrote of the unreleased song ‘The Trenchcoat Museum’: “Before calling an end to the concert, Yard Act returned for an encore which began by teasing album two with ‘The Trenchcoat Museum’. The song is a statement of intent and has more of an aggressive edge than anything from The Overload, suggesting a heavier second chapter awaits the Leeds band.”
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