Yard Act and the Search for Utopia

On “A Vineyard for the North,” the closing track to Yard Act’s new record, Where’s My Utopia?, a crystalline beacon appears from a chorus of voices to assert, “This is the hour of letting pain go.” It is a sharp contrast to the lyrical evocations that commence the album; in the first few moments of the opener, “An Illusion,” lead singer James Smith bluntly proclaims, “Guess I’ll have to saw off my own foot,” an immediate image of violence and self-infliction. Such a narrative weaving—spiraling through relinquishment and repudiation—seemingly becomes the key to the record’s titular question. “Part of reaching utopia is accepting pain as a part of existence…The album is a journey into what pain is in that sense and part of striving for utopia [is accepting] you can’t resolve the world of that but you can live with it and learn from it,” Smith tells me.

The sophomore follow-up to the Leeds-based band’s 2022 The Overload finds them expanding outwards in their sonic exploration through collaboration with Remi Kabaka Jr. of Gorillaz fame while simultaneously turning their focus inwards. “I think we knew we weren’t going to repeat ourselves sonically, and lyrically I couldn’t repeat myself because my life had changed so much…lyrically it’s the inverse: instead of looking out, I was looking in. And musically, I think we had the confidence to do what we should’ve done with album one.” The process of writing The Overload occurred entirely during quarantine, with Smith and Ryan Needham—the band’s bassist and co-founder—writing the majority of the lyrics. Reflective of surrounding moments of civil unrest and collective angst, their punk-heavy debut gripped listeners, like Elton John, with its poignant reflections and criticisms sung out from the societal debris. Now, with ears leaning in, Yard Act is embracing that intimacy. 

For Where’s My Utopia?, the writing process was far more collaborative, tying in guitarist Sam Shipstone and drummer Jay Russell to help craft the songs. While the record was written amid the band’s expansive last tour that took them around the world and expanded their listenership, Smith points to its insular quality, saying that he “felt very disconnected from the world, despite having moments…[of connectivity like] meeting people in Japan, and realizing the uniqueness of us all is to be celebrated, but we’re also kind of all the same.” The growing connection with their fanbase, along with Smith’s newfound role as a father, gave him the “courage to write about [himself] and be more vulnerable.” 

Such was the case for “The Trench Coat Museum”, the ambitious eight-minute-long single he describes as a bridge between the first and second albums. Kabaka’s sizzling contributions on the track are immediately apparent; merging the band’s post-punk aesthetics with quirky, dance production, the song serpentines through the new sounds, inhibiting casual listening. The success of the track led to some fans’ confusion when it was ultimately left off the tracklist, though Smith tells me, “I like bands that don’t put, some would say, their best songs on record. Maybe it’s a sign of arrogance but also a sign of confidence and a way of making sure you don’t get too bogged down in the analytics and business side…” He teases that for their next album, they plan on following a similar structure of releasing songs that rival those on the tracklist but will be ultimately left off. “You can’t be precious about your best material otherwise it will define you and you’ll have nowhere to go.” 

Even so, the songs that did land on the final tracklist prove the band is not lacking in punching material, assembling a melange of razor-sharp wit and beautifully illustrated scenes of introspection. Such is the case for the haunting poetics of “Grifter’s Grief,” where Smith sings over a pouncing bass, “I sleep beneath an ancient tree that looms over the heath / With a head of empty threats, lay on a bed of stolen dog teeth / As our prayers all turn to begging / When beholden to a sun that left us sowing seeds / For summer down the barrel of a gun.” 

On another track, “Down by the Stream,” the band describes the 13th birthday party of “Peter Pullen”, an event that resulted in “Jono Steadman” getting shot in the leg by an air gun. When I asked if the included names were real, Smith tells me that they were changed though the song conveniently brought him back in touch with many of the people from the party. The track, like multiple on the album, emphasizes the quotidian as a “jump-off point into the wider world.” 

With such a vivid, scenic touch, it is also no wonder that the album’s accompanying visual language is foundational to the music. For the first record, Needham created their minimalist logo that interlocks the “Y” and “A” of Yard Act in a circular icon, a playful yet geometric design capturing the band’s ethos. For What’s My Utopia, their friend “Tommy” (@well.dweller on Instagram) designed the dystopically playful cover, featuring crashing planes and a skeletal figure set ablaze. Smith asserts that the “artwork has always been as important to us as the music.” 

For the accompanying music videos, the band reunited with director James Slater—who also did the videos for their first record—to create a continuous storyline following a black-bobbed protagonist named “The Visitor” (played by Daisy J T Smith) evading capture through a series of technicolor and periodic vignettes. Smith underlines that the collaboration between the band and Slater flourishes in the two entities’ trust in one another and commitment to world-building. Where’s My Utopia?’s videos take place thirty years in the future from the world of the first album, though calling back to various 80s and 90s references, such as the “Thriller”-esque dance sequence in “Dream Job” that adopts a David Byrnean zaniness. The band morphs throughout the four videos, from news reporters to leather-donning punk rockers to creeping clowns, fitting transmutations for the band’s assemblage of new sounds and styles. Most recently, the band released “Live From Utopia,” a wondrous set that places them directly inside the album cover. “We put a lot of thought into [the visual language]…even if they’re tenuous links, even if no one else is picking up on them, the idea of everything having an unseen story that connects it helps me make sense of it and deepens my connection to it.” 

The band goes even further, extrapolating these visual modes of storytelling in their live performances, where Daisy J T Smith—along with other castmates—have joined the band on stage, physically delivering the artful ecstasy of their videos and assisting in background vocals. Since the album’s March 1st release, the band has hit the stage immediately, kicking off their tour on March 13th in the UK, before almost another twenty shows throughout the rest of Europe in April. Their expanding presence, especially within Europe, found the band in larger venues where the “freewheeling and unhinged” performance qualities from their early days did not have the same effect on larger stages. “We were kind of figuring out how to retain our sense of selves while evolving into this bigger act.” Like the emotive bodily expression in their videos, Smith realized that even without a common language, movement, gesture, and vocal tone are pivotal in creating these connections. In America, Smith emphasizes that the club shows and smaller venues will be more in line with some of their earlier performance experiences, keeping it fresh and inhibiting them from “falling into a rhythm of doing the same thing every night where we are.” 

Ironically, Smith’s learned performance lessons in communication and adaptability coincide with his newfound role as a father—though the former hopefully includes fewer diapers. As Yard Act’s plate fills with stardom, the balancing act of music and fatherhood for Smith becomes even harder. While he knows the work is financially beneficial to their family, he says, “I’ve had a lot of doubts about doing this job and being away [even though] people often say, ‘He’s going to be proud of who his dad is when he sees what he did and poured his heart into.’” Picturing such future retrospection is hard for Smith now, though moments like seeing his son recognize his voice when the band’s music plays affirm the importance of his pursuits. 

For the band, a sense of family can also be found in their hometown of Leeds, to which they credit their personal and musical growth. “It’s a nice place to be and to remind myself how life exists beyond the other mad world I live in…The music scene has nurtured me there; I went to music college there and then spent ten years playing in bands, and everyone that I have ever met in my life that I hold dear was through the music scene.” It is why they stay so loyal to Leeds and continuously organize special events for the city. On the day of their album release, they held a city-wide takeover, bouncing from record stores to bars to music halls; in August, they will return to play with fellow Leeds-based groups English Teacher and Ultimate Thunder, as well as Fat Dog.

As they continue to ride their current surge, the band is keen on sticking to their roots and affirming purpose in their craft. “If it brings you happiness, pursue it at all costs…[Music] wasn’t a job for me for twelve years and I never stopped doing it. And if none of this had happened, I’d still be doing it now,” Smith says. This implanted passion, the sense that the musical creation is not merely extra but essential, becomes even more impactful when the accompanying music sounds so freeing. 

Yard Act begin their North American tour in Solana Beach next week on May 31st. For tickets and more information, check here.