Angry, articulate and occasionally hilarious, Leeds four-piece Yard Act are here with their debut album, a post-punk partial concept album that’s drenched in black humour.
Mastered at Abbey Road by senior mastering engineer Geoff Pesche, The Overload is the output of a band who were raised on US MTV Hip-Hop, minimal ‘70s No-Wave and sharp-witted British indie.
The band formed just before the UK was plunged into its first lockdown, but that hasn’t stopped them from turning heads over the past two years. Recording with Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Perfume Genius, Aldous Harding) at his Bristol studio, those prolific demos have been sharpened down into something that speaks to the times we live in.
Vocalist James Smith said of the album: “Lyrically, I think it’s a record about the things that we all do – we’re all so wired into the system of day to day that we don’t really stop and think about the constructs that define us. But also beyond that, it’s kind of exciting, because there’s still so much we don’t understand; how a hive mindset is forged, how information spreads, how we agree and presume things without thinking.”
Mastering engineer Geoff Pesche added: "A great record, mastered during the dark depths of lockdown. Brought a ray of sunshine into Mastering Room Five. Clever social observations in the songs from these guys."
For fans of John Cooper Clarke, Gang of Four, Chumbawamba, Happy Mondays and The Fall.
Tracklisting:
1. The Overload
2. Dead Horse
3. Payday’
04. Rich
5. The Incident
6. Witness
7. Land Of The Blind
8. Quarantine The Sticks
9. Tall Poppies
10. Pour Another
11. 100% Endurance
Purchase on vinyl from the Abbey Road Shop.
