Music / Reviews
Review: Yard Act, O2 Academy – ‘Had the audience wrapped around their fingers’
Hailing from Leeds, Yard Act exploded onto the music scene with their debut album The Overload in 2022. It received great acclaim upon its release, landing it on the shortlist for the Mercury Prize that year.
Now they are back with their second album, Where’s My Utopia?, also to great critical response and peaking at number four on the UK Albums chart.
Now Yard Act are hitting the road across Europe and North America to promote the album, and on Saturday, they found themselves at the O2 Academy to bring their unique blend of dancy post-punk and indie rock to Bristol.
First up we had Gustaf supporting, a five piece band hailing from Brooklyn, with a great stage presence including a band member who brandished a rubber chicken as an instrument at one point.
Unfortunately, I think they were let down by the sound design, as I could barely hear what the lead singer was saying.
Yard Act hit the stage and the O2 erupted with joy. The crowd danced and moshed to new tracks such as We Make Hits and Dream Job, while old classics from their first album and EP got a lot of love from fans.
The entire band brought a lot of presence to the stage, held together by lead vocalist James Smith. A special shoutout goes to the band’s backing singers, who were having a great time and really added to the performance with their campy and over-the-top dancing.
Smith has a hard job as the lead singer, as Yard Act tracks are famously very wordy, with a mix of singing, spoken word and rap to try and convey complex messages about topics such as politics and capitalism.
However, the determination and passion he brings to his performance ensures everyone is having a great time, even if the crowd is not catching every word.
Featuring singalongs, coordinated dancing and audience interaction, Yard Act had the audience wrapped around their fingers, delivering a fully realised performance with masterful instrumentals that immediately cemented itself as one of my favourite gigs of the year.
Main photo: Kyran Wood
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