Move over post-punk, the funk-pop revolution has begun. Yard Act have followed up their breakthrough debut album ‘The Overload’ with ‘Where’s My Utopia?’, a self-reflexive masterpiece where bangers are crafted by putting a knife to the throat of the very notion of hitmaking.
We Make Hits grooves like a wave machine, poking fun at their rise as gritty post-punk poster boys, while Dream Job serves a charcuterie board of disco cuts straight out of Nile Rodgers’ kitchen. Vocalist James Smith takes aim with stabbing sarcasm at their own complicity in the toxicity of the music industry: “Oh my God, it's ace, just look at my face, I’m on top of the world.”
This could have all gone horribly wrong. An album-length exploration of your own artistic integrity is an unhinged idea, but ‘Where’s My Utopia?’ is driven on by Yard Act’s commitment to the bit and a late-album labyrinth of sounds that offers a truly satisfying denouement.
The Katy J Pearson-featuring When The Laughter Stops has a bassline built to break backs, twisting into a twitchy caffeine-fuelled tirade on the fickleness of fame, while Grifter’s Grief gives way to producer and Gorillaz collaborator Remi Kabaka Jr.’s influence, as sun-kissed synths and saxophones point the way to buried treasure beneath the sands of ‘Cracker Island’.
With all of this in mind, it’s a surprise to hear Smith close out the seven-minute spoken word gem Blackpool Illuminations by reflecting: “I attained perfection with you / I attained perfection / so why the fuck was I wondering what wankers would think of album two?” Over a spacious unspooling of woodwind and strings, Smith interviews himself — or perhaps imagines a future conversation with his son — about the innocence of childhood and the delicate nature of parenthood as a person in the spotlight.
It’s another example of Yard Act’s genius — they smuggle deeper meaning into the equation but take equal care in describing the pleasures of Calpol and crisps. ‘Where’s My Utopia?’ might not find the answer to the question posed by its title, but who needs one? Another debrief in their company is worth more than any pat conclusion.
Yard Act Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed March 13 2024 - NORWICH UEA
Thu March 14 2024 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Fri March 15 2024 - GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
Sat March 16 2024 - MANCHESTER O2 Apollo
Sun March 17 2024 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Northumbria University
Tue March 19 2024 - BELFAST Mandela Hall
Wed March 20 2024 - DUBLIN Vicar Street
Fri March 22 2024 - LIVERPOOL Invisible Wind Factory
Sat March 23 2024 - BRISTOL O2 Academy Bristol
Sun March 24 2024 - CARDIFF Great Hall - Cardiff Uni
Mon March 25 2024 - BRIGHTON Brighton Dome Concert Hall
Wed March 27 2024 - LONDON Eventim Apollo
Sat August 03 2024 - LEEDS Millennium Square
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