Yard Act conquer Manchester Albert Hall

Leeds post-punk titans Yard Act have been unavoidable on both a local and national scale since they first started releasing music in September 2020. Their initial singles ‘Fixer Upper’, ‘The Trapper’s Pelts’, ‘Peanuts’ and ‘Dark Days’ received critical acclaim from the likes of BBC 6Music – and the legions of 6Music dads who flocked to Brudenell Social Club like flies around an up-and-coming post-punk outfit. The release of their Mercury-nominated debut album, The Overload, propelled them to a number two spot in the album charts, extensive tours of the UK, Europe and the US (with a quick stop off to perform live on Jimmy Fallon), and even a collaboration with rock royalty Elton John. It has been over a year since the release of The Overload, and its twenty-five different vinyl variants, and the band are working hard on new material. In an interview conducted with The Gryphon last year, bassist Ryan Needham (previously of incredible Leeds-based psych outfit Menace Beach) and guitarist Sam Shipstone (who is also making music with Holodrum) affirmed their commitment to recording new music – also suggesting that these new tracks have more no-wave and disco influences, owing to the influence of a lot of ESG. 

Before this new era of Yard Act begins, though, The Overload deserved a grand send off. After all the countless mosh pits, festivals, Brudenell appearances, fifty pence pieces collected from the audience, and with the infamous golden Rover in the garage; the final Overload gigs were announced. These were five dates in some of the most beautiful and well-regarded independent venues that the UK and Ireland have to offer, accompanied by a stellar line-up of support acts including old friends Baba Ali, rising groups Deadletter and Fat Dog, and Leeds contemporaries English Teacher and Thank. Kicking off at Vicar Street in Dublin on the 26^th April, then to Glasgow’s Barrowlands, the Albert Hall in Manchester and finishing with two dates at The Troxy in London. It was at Manchester Albert Hall that I caught the band. It was the eighth time I had seen the band and it was undoubtedly one of their finest performances to date. 

Before Yard Act took to the stage, though, it was the turn of fellow Leeds band, Thank. Those who have been lucky enough to see Thank in action should already be aware that they represent one of the most interesting, innovative and exciting bands to have come out of Leeds in a very long time. Their experimental influences of Theo Gowans – who you may recognise from his experimental projects under the name Territorial Gobbings, or the ‘Heinous Whining’ experimental music nights he hosts at Wharf Chambers – are complimented by the dark yet often humorous lyrics of frontman Freddy Vinehill-Cliffe and the intense, violent performance of drummer Steve Myles, who often appears to be beating the drums into submission, to great effect. Although the group’s unique brand of noise rock is perhaps more well-suited to the small, sweaty rooms of Wharf Chambers of Mabgate Bleach, seeing them shout “Tonight Matthew, I will shit in my own hands and clap” inside a stunning Grade II listed building, was certainly a sight to behold and it seemed to go down well with the sold-out crowd. 

At nine o’clock, it was time for Yard Act to take to the stage. Flanked on either side of the room by huge stained-glass windows and an ornate baroque-inspired ceiling above them, the band entered onto the stage to rapturous applause and cheers before erupting into ‘Rich’. It was immediately apparent that the four-piece was on top form and the audience at the sold-out Albert Hall seemed to be instantaneously enthralled in the performance. Though this was billed as an Overload show, the audience was further treated to some extra tracks, including the early single ‘Dark Days’ as well as two brand new songs early on in the setlist. The new songs, ‘Petroleum’ and ‘The Trenchcoat Museum’ sounded immense, particularly the latter. The Overload will certainly be a difficult album to follow up, but these new tracks seem to confirm that Yard Act are more than up to the task. Frontman James Smith, by this point in the setlist, had the crowd in the palm of his hand and seemed to be controlling them effectively throughout the performance of ‘Tall Poppies’ and into the latter half of the set. Although notable Overload tracks The Incident and Quarantine the Sticks (which featured Billy Nomates) were absent from the setlist, the crowd was not really in a place to complain – the band rattled through a sterling setlist ending with an encore of ‘100% Endurance’ (a version of which was recently released on Record Store Day as a 7”, featuring Elton John) and their first single, ‘The Trapper’s Pelts’ to finish the night off. 

The only remaining 2023 gigs for Yard Act, aside from a handful of festival appearances, comes in the form of their five-day residency as Brudenell Social Club – a venue close to the heart of the band. Afterall, one of their first ever shows took place at Brudenell, supporting fellow Leeds band Mush, the band played there the night before it was announced that their album had reached number two in the charts, and their golden Rover was parked there for months before being moved. Their residency starts on the 8^th May and will feature incredible special guests such as Rose Matafeo, Nish Kumar, Lole Adefope, and Harry Hill. Tickets for these dates have long since sold out but, if their Albert Hall performance is anything to go by, they are certain to be unforgettable!