CD of The Week

The title of Yard Act's second album (2024's Where's My Utopia?) was a searching query. The title of their new release, You're Gonna Need A Little Music, is a playful threat, which actually captures the tone of the 11-song collection quite well. The Leeds band still genre bends with abandon and regularly deconstructs the form of the standard rock song, but there is a confrontational, aggressive quality to the album that serves as a demarcation line from previous efforts. Luckily, the melodic thrills and elastic musicianship have not waned as the band's status has grown.

The album begins on a sinister note with "Empty Pledges," which features thumping and clanging percussion from Jay Russell and frontman James Smith bellowing "Never assume, it makes an arse of you and you alone / and if you're right / you're not a Knight to be anointed." Beginning with a strong statement has a powerful impact of leading the listener to other dark adventures on the album such as the Tom Waits-influenced "Tall Tales" and the metallic blues of "Redeemer," which was deliberately picked as the first single in order to subvert expectations and provide a reset. Meanwhile, the title track is another highlight, with an intoxicating groove that cleverly conceals a truly twisted set of lyrics.

Those drawn into Yard Act through dance-punk anthems like "Payday" and "We Make Hits" may find more to like in the funky and irresistibly catchy "Fiction" and "Thrill of the Chase," which features Smith's appealingly off-kilter rapping and a brief electronic break that wouldn't be out of place in a song from The Prodigy. "Cherophobe Rock" (is this a possible Smashing Pumpkins reference?) is another energetic tune that might have the most memorable chorus on the album, but the level of distortion applied to Smith's vocals is another indication that the band has no fear of pushing their sound in edgier directions.

You're Gonna Need A Little Music is yet another success from Yard Act, as the band continues to expand their palette without losing their identity as one of the more effectively off-kilter bands of the 2020s. There may be less immediacy and harsher textures than previous releases, but the British quartet continues to release music you are going to both want and need in these tumultuous times.

Yard Act will be returning to Philadelphia alongside The Armed on Saturday, August 15th with a show at Underground Arts.