Yard Act bring ‘The Overload’ to Brighton in-store

Yard Act live at Resident Brighton 23.1.22 (pic Richie Nice) (click pic to enlarge)

YARD ACT – IN-STORE, RESIDENT, BRIGHTON 23.01.22

Leeds four-piece Yard Act generated a considerable buzz last year. Their ‘Dark Days’ EP, a collection of previous singles, established them as front runners amongst the current crop of guitar bands with a sound vaguely reminiscent of 1980s post-punk. Most striking are the semi-spoken lyrics of frontman James Smith, loaded with witty social observation and often delivered in character, in a conversational style. Their debut album ‘The Overload’ has been eagerly awaited, and with impressive pre-orders prior to its 21st January release date, has an outside chance of hitting the top of the UK album charts. Needless to say, that means a busy week for the band, and this evening’s sold-out in-store show at Resident in Brighton is the fourth record shop they’ve been to today, having worked their way along the coast via Bournemouth, Southampton and Southsea.

Resident Brighton 23.1.22 (pic Richie Nice) (click pic to enlarge)

I’ve arrived early, in the hope of securing a good vantage point, and there’s soon a sizeable queue stretching down Kensington Gardens. The atmosphere is one of happy anticipation, and to pass the time we get to watch the band members inside, flicking through the vinyl racks. Doors open at 6.30pm, and the store quickly fills. It’s a sizeable space, as record shops go, though necessarily divided by the racking, which along with a couple of supporting pillars funnels the audience into three narrow sections. A tiny stage has been set up in front of the counter, with a compact PA system and a single mic on a stand.

The band emerges to a loud cheer, James in his trademark mac and specs, looking like Michael Caine playing Harry Palmer. “Anything anyone wants to hear?” he enquires, to a loud chuckle. We want the whole album, of course, but they go with a shout out for recent single ‘Land Of The Blind.’ Drummer Jay stands behind the counter, providing the rhythm from an electronic beatbox and sonic embellishments via a tiny Korg Monotron analog synth. Bassist Ryan is seated on the counter, pumping out the insistent groove on a Fender Mustang, and moustachioed guitarist Sam stands house right, jangling a blonde Telecaster through a small amp, leaving James to prowl the solitary stage block.

The vibey ‘Land Of The Blind’ is usually the set closer, as it culminates in a “magic trick” whereby James makes himself and a borrowed 50p piece “disappear” by running off stage. There’s clearly not much scope for that in this crowded environment, so he settles for turning his back on the audience, to peals of laughter. Sam concludes the piece with an absolutely blistering guitar solo.

There’s witty banter between numbers, with James bemoaning the pocket-draining temptation provided by visiting so many record shops. Ryan wryly quips that discounts only seem to apply to the lead singer. ‘Dead Horse’ is next, its quick-fire lyric doomily atmospheric in depicting a rapidly manifesting future where all that’s left of our culture is “…knobheads Morris dancing to Sham 69”.

Throwing the next choice open to the crowd returns ‘Peanuts’, from the ‘Dark Days’ EP. Asked whether he has a suitable beat, Jay offers “UK garage”, to much hilarity and another round of banter, with the band deciding that their drummer looks like one half of the Chemical Brothers, or a “Chemical Only Child” as James puts it. Jay gets further ribbing for having the audacity to possess a mate outside the band with whom he exchanges text messages. Needless to say, the number works well, even in this stripped back form, with delivery of the “take it to the bridge, UK garage style” long narrative poem particularly impressive.

There’s a shout out for ‘Witness’, one of my favourite tracks from the album, and the one that sounds most like the iconic Manchester band that the entire post-punk scene is fed-up with being compared to. Ryan isn’t keen, as they tried it earlier and it didn’t work too well in this format, but James is bullish and they press on regardless with its insistent guitar groove. It’s a short sharp piece, and an audience member’s assessment of “fine” at its conclusion raises more sniggers. “What’s wrong with fine?” asks James, launching a tirade against the excessive use of superlatives to describe things that are average. Your humble reviewer is looking a little sheepish at this point.

Ryan is keen to play ‘100% Endurance’, the closing track of the album. It has a lovely flowing bass line, and the poignant lyric is augmented by atmospheric guitar and interesting background noises from the tiny synth. At the close, James holds up a copy of the album, allegedly made of “solid gold” (or gold coloured vinyl, at least), which we can win by buying a ticket in a raffle. The crowd responds with a suitable chorus of excited “oohs”.

“Conveniently, as we are now in a chart battle with Years And Years, you also get a free cassette of our album, which counts as one sale. We know exactly what we’re doing!” This quip raises a huge laugh. I make a mental note to buy a ticket, as it’s a cracking album and the band have been particularly witty and charming tonight. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather see topping next week’s album charts.

After a brief discussion, it is decided to do two more numbers, and to “play the hits”, namely lead single and title track ‘The Overload’, and the EP classic ‘Fixer Upper’. Since the technology can facilitate it, they decide to start slowly and speed up. “It sounds like ‘Hot Stuff’” exclaims James, as the slowed down opening lumbers into life. It really does.

There’s opportunity for a last round of banter, with James setting out the band’s policy for “pre approved mates”, another dig at Jay. Ryan starts playing the bass intro to ‘Block Rocking Beats’, just to get some last mileage from the Chemical Brothers joke, before launching into ‘Fixer Upper’, narrated in the voice of “two home owner” Graham. The band are clearly having a lot of fun, despite their busy schedule, and the audience are absolutely loving it. There’s warm applause at the end, and the signing queue is soon snaking right round the shop.

Though obviously now wary of excessive superlatives, I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to the album and catching tonight’s show. If post-punk indie grooves overlaid with searingly sharp social observation sounds like your sort of thing, I strongly recommend you investigate Yard Act. If you like the album enough to buy it, this week really is the time. Hopefully, we can help these plucky underdogs make it all the way to the top.