Album Reviw- Yard Act- The Overload (2022)

One of the most exciting bands of 2021 was Yard Act. As part of something music writers dubbed “The Summer of the Fall”, Yard Act didn’t necessarily remind me of the Fall, but now I can’t seem to I hear it. More accurately for me, they sounded like a band that grew up on Fall influenced bands like Franz Ferdinand (and the Arctic Monkeys and Libertines). Interestingly, the 2022 debut does not include “Dark Days” or some of the 2021 songs that put them on the map. Normally, that would be a mark against, but this is a pretty solid set of songs even without the best songs of their young career. Interestingly, the other artist that shows up the most in the reviews is quite sonically different, though born from the same fabric as Pulp. But while the band maintains their own identity, spot the similarity reigns throughout. “Pour Another” is the most Lydonesque of songs from a band that regularly uses the PiL template. And I suppose they will be featured in some inevitable “rock n roll” is back article but on opener The Overload, singer James Smith veers into Mike “The Streets” Skinner territory. Elsewhere I think of early 21st Century alt-rapper Scroobius Pip. “Rich” is almost a spoken word poem that needs to be heard, while “Land of the Blind” isn’t that much different but stands up for repeated listening. More songs lean toward that kind of experience. Which is weird for me. The last generation was into more traditional rock acts like The Clash and the Smiths. But this band like the very sonically similar Sleaford Mods draw comparisons to Half Man Half Biscuit and Ian Dury. That’s possible, anyone growing up these days can listen to a Gang of Four album or those early The Fall records, and I’m not saying they didn’t, but I also think this generation has taken all in that came before it - whether it’s classic rap or Madchester or the all of the politically charged records of the last few decades. NSFW language