Yard Act: KCRW Live from HQ

Intimate performances, fresh sounds, and candid conversations with a view.

Written by Marion Hodges Aug. 01, 2024

For reasons mostly related to COVID protocol, the current lineup of Leeds post-punk-funk outfit Yard Act fell into place just before they hit the road in support of their eviscerating debut LP The Overload. The core four band members — James Smith (vocals), Ryan Needham (bass), Sam Shjipstone (guitar), Jay Russell (drums) — had to crash course gelling as a musical unit while adjusting to the jump from their own indie label (Zen F.C,) to major label Island Records.

They must’ve done something right: The Overload was shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize and racked up co-signs from Beck, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, and Sir Elton John. The latter became such a vocal fan that he eventually joined Yard Act in the studio for a revamped version of Overload’s closing track “100% Endurance” — a serene rumination on embracing life’s impermanence which has now (ironically) achieved sonic landmark status due to John’s vocal and piano enhancements.

In March, Yard Act dropped their sophomore album Where’s My Utopia?, a post-modern opus that cuts freely between dialogue samples, slinky synths, vocal hooks, razor-edged guitar tones, and serious beats. The stylistic leaps come thanks to the production of Gorillaz’ Remi Kabaka Jr., and frontman James Smith’s self-referential parsing of where he fits into the musical and existential timeline. See: single “We Make Hits,” featuring phrases like “post-punk’s latest poster boys” and “this nation’s saving grace.” “Dream Job,” meanwhile, nods to Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long.” Playful notes like these make the moments when the gloves come off hit even harder. For all of the winking, there’s also serious contemplation of how to balance success with domestic life, hard reflections on semi-misspent youth, and hypotheticals so dark that most of us would hesitate to write them in our journals… let alone into a song for a major label pop record.

Yard Act brings it all (well, mostly just the fun parts) to KCRW’s Annenberg Performance Studio so you can dissect ‘em for yourself. The gang guides us through Utopia cuts “Petroleum,” “We Make Hits,” “Dream Job,” and “A Vineyard for the North.” Plus, “100% Endurance” and non-album single “The Trench Coat Museum.” And the interview between KCRW’s Raul Campos and founding members Smith and Needham is just the sort of funny and disarming conversational jolt you could surely use right about now. Watch it below, and get down to the sounds via the video embedded at the top of this page.

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Credits:
KCRW Music Director: Anne Litt
Interviewer: Raul Campos
Director / Editor / Colorist: Angie Scarpa
Director of Photography: Kylie Hazzard
Camera Operators: Kylie Hazzard, Ali Ivosevich, Angie Scarpa
KCRW Recording / Mix Engineer: Hope Brush
Assistant Engineers: Nick Lampone, Katie Gilchrest (Front of House)
Executive Producer: Ariana Morgenstern
Producers: Anna Chang and Krissy Barker
Digital Producer: Marion Hodges
Digital Editorial Manager: Andrea Domanick
Lighting Design: Jason Groman
Art Director: Evan Solano

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