"You’re Gonna Need A Little Music" to compete with this.

A review of Yard Act’s most recent album. 

Having achieved much acclaim since the release of their first album in 2022, You’re Gonna Need A Little Music is Yard Act’s third album (released on the 17th July this year). Despite the band being from my home city of Leeds I must admit I have not given them a proper ear, but having now listened to this album I am most certainly a fan. This new album imbues their already strong post-punk indie rock sound with further fascinating vocal and piano layers.

From the first song Empty Pledges, the listener is confronted by an edgy, almost aggressive stream of conscience, growing in vigour as James Smith (lead singer) develops the impression of increasing breathlessness. From joining at 20 seconds in, Smith goes on for an impressive 4 minutes on top of the sounds of drums, guitar and at points, piano. He only slows in the dying seconds of the opening hit, at which point he states “So you can sit down shut up and listen / Or switch this sh*t off.”

If you do choose to bear with the album, the next two songs deliver the most effective vocal layers to the overall album. While New Beginnings reaches a higher register in the opening notes of verses, Fiction features fabulous backing vocals which follow the descent of Ryan Needham’s bass guitar. Significantly, Tall Tales provides the uneducated musical ear with the first aural indication that piano will come to be a crucial part of the album. And, just as this song begins at the keys, so does the title track You’re Gonna Need A Little Music. 

Arriving two songs later, and the penultimate track on side A of the vinyl, You’re Gonna Need A Little Music is driven by a funky, and incredibly memorable piano riff. The high-octave chiming in the right hand fabulously complements the plinky-plonk chord sequence in the left. Such a central role of the piano by this point should maybe not be a surprise though, since the album cover features the floating red silhouette of a grand and very little else on its black background.

Piano can be clearly heard at points in the second half of the album too. Nevertheless, crucial elements of narrative intensity, violent power of drums and guitar, and sometimes dissonance, do keep finding their way into the nooks and crannies of the 41 recorded minutes. To look further into the hits of side B on the vinyl for example, the climactic moments of Thrill Of The Chase and concluding song, Over The Barrel would likely upset the ears of the casual indie fan. In such sections you can definitely hear the guitarist (Sam Shipstone) and drummer (Jay Russell) having great fun in just creating noise.

Specifically in regards to the volume of vocals, James Smith appears to reserve shouting for dramatic effects in moments such as the satanic chorus of Redeemer. But, the most characteristic element of his voice is his Yorkshire accent, emphasising vowel sounds including ‘u’ and shortening other sounds like ‘ing’ and ‘t.’ In fact, Smith warrants some comparison to Sheffield's own Jarvis Cocker, in that both deliver local syntax and swagger. In fact, the confident posture of the human silhouette on the album cover, both feet pointed and planted, is arguably a little bit Cocker. 

Overall, this record is hugely successful in creating a catchy set of songs for those who would struggle with punk in its rawest forms or question where sweeter melodies often go in indie rock. Moreover, the characteristic post-punk indie rock sound of Yard Act and You’re Gonna Need A Little Music is definitely my cuppa, and certainly something you should try too.