Yard Act, the latest post-punk group to conquer the British charts, and also the Mercury Prize panel, with their first album, ‘The Overload’ (2022), returns. ‘Where’s My Utopia’, their second full-length, goes on sale on March 1, 2024. Remi Kabaka Jr., from Gorillaz, produced it hand in hand with the Leeds quartet.
The first single, ‘Dream Job’, arrives ready to liven up festivals with a rhythm inspired by the disco music of the early 80s. The Kool & The Gang of ‘Celebration’ seem a clear influence in the type of melodies and percussions and in the whole spirit of the song.
‘Dream Job’ talks about James Smith’s relationship with the music industry. “I made fun of myself for being a whiny, ungrateful brat, while also trying to address how the music industry is an uncontrollable beast that rushes ahead without thinking and with each person involved playing their part.” , says the musician.
Smith says that he has tried to “articulate the complexity of his emotions” in the music of his new single, and that the “gravity” with which he felt those emotions “had no place.” She had no choice but to make a fun song. “I tried to capture (those emotions) in a pop song that lasts less than three minutes once the fog cleared a little.”
The repertoire of ‘Where’s My Utopia’ includes a collaboration with Katy J Pearson, author of one of the standout albums of 2022, ‘Sound of the Morning’. This is the official tracklist:
1. An Illusion
2. We Make Hits
3. Down By The Stream
4. The Undertow
5. Dream Job
6. Fizzy Fish
7. Petroleum
8. When The Laughter Stops (ft. Katy J Pearson)
9. Grifter’s Grief
10. Blackpool Illuminations
11. A Vineyard for the North
