Good morning!
It’s hard to believe four years had passed since I last saw Yard Act perform at the Black Cat. The post-punk Leeds outfit came out of the Covid-era with a banger of a debut album. It was clear that they had something to say.
The odd thing is that, in their third record, You’re Gonna Need a Little Music, James Smith has a little bit of a different message: “I’ve done absolutely nothing since I last saw you four years ago / Ah, how you doing, yeah, I’m still chipping away / But I’ve got absolutely nothing / Absolutely nothing new to say”
This is the sort of imposter syndrome Yard Act tackle in their most recent project. The quartet are exploring new styles and adopting different references from disco house to Blur and Muse to create a far more varied sound.
That all creates for a deeper, richer backlog of tracks to dig into when they hit the stage. And, four years on from first seeing them, they returned to Black Cat with as much ferocity as ever.
Over the course of roughly 80 minutes Yard Act played a setlist with their hard-hitting debut tracks, the newer material and some more pop-driven hits from Where’s My Utopia (e.g.: We Make Hits).
Yard Act are a band that don’t seem to be afraid to say what’s on their mind, even if one of those things might be “I have nothing new to say”. The funny thing is, it appears there’s still a lot out there.
What I struggled to understand was how Yard Act couldn’t sell out the Black Cat, which has a capacity of about 700 or so people. So, four years on, are Yard Act bigger or just the same? Looking at other venues plus the attention they’ve been receiving from Rolling Stone and elsewhere (I imagine they’re getting pretty big in the UK indie punk circuit), you have to believe this must have something more to do with DC.
All that’s to say is I hoped they had graduated from this venue by now – say to 9:30 Club. Yard Act deserve a venue like that. Hopefully it’ll be an option the next time they visit the US.
Fitzie’s track of the day: Empty Pledges, by Yard Act
And now for your links:
The Athletic ($$): “Why Djed Spence’s transfer to Inter for £25m makes sense for all parties”
BBC: “Villa close in on Suzuki with Martinez future in doubt”
ESPN: “Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney reaffirm Wrexham’s Premier League target”
Vogue: “Inside Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez’s Intimate Wedding Day in Portugal”
The Guardian: “‘We’re really good. I don’t mean that arrogantly’: Yard Act on bullying, imposter syndrome and their heavy new sound”