Yard Act – You’re Gonna Need a Little Music Review

Drowning out all those troubles with music never sounded so good. Yard Act rally for album number three, You’re Gonna Need a Little Music, and just in time. Eleven more persuasive commentaries from the James Smith-fronted band. You’re Gonna Need a Little Music extends both the enraged lyrical process that guided Yard Act through Where’s My Utopia?, and bleeds in plenty of new instrumental influences. The band has gone from strength to strength with their sound, a confident approach on every record that has done what few do. They’re learning as they build a back catalogue, and every album sounds like a clear step in the right direction. Yard Act isn’t about finding a comfortable sound to sit in and profiteer from. What you can hear across You’re Gonna Need a Little Music is the same risk-taking practice the band observed on Where’s My Utopia?, that same belief system that makes The Overload such a magnificent debut. It’s all there for those willing to listen to their worldview.  

Many artists are rightfully commenting on the world around them. Be it with a hopeful, positive tinge as Ian Prowse offered on No Names or with this feeling that it’s all falling apart, as appears to be the case. You’re Gonna Need a Little Music prevails, a new beginning can be heard on the aptly titled track, New Beginnings, for instance. Pair that with lead single Redeemer, a bit of punchy, punk-tinged fun, and you have a band whose sound is still steady but filled with necessary risks. Custom registration plates on opener Empty Pledges takes the space of those endless, doomed to lose bets on Dream Job. The everyday is once more a cause for common complaint but if you dig that little bit deeper into the little details, there’s very little worth celebrating in the day to day. Those custom registration plates are a nod towards a wider, darker problem which Yard Act has been chasing after for three albums now. It’s not that they’re no closer to solving the trouble, but there’ll never be a moment when it doesn’t mark itself as relevant criticism.  

Few are offering better cultural commentaries than Smith. Empty Pledges decries the gentrification of a post-COVID holiday, a queue-out-the-door pub, and those chrome-driving dogs who are “slumming it with lots of money” in the capital city. Liberties are being taken across the country and Smith notes that, while they’re right to be outraged, it seems the complaints are being registered but not addressed. New Beginnings is like catching your breath after being punched in the stomach. A moment of clarity to come after such stresses and biting, righteous rage on Empty Pledges. Much of Yard Act’s work comments on the broad strokes with such a specific target in mind that it keeps the message alive and fresh. Yard Act relies on a few fundamentals of their sound, but nothing is sacred; that’s what makes You’re Gonna Need a Little Music so vibrant.  

Tall Tales into Fiction is a tremendous example of this ever-evolving sound that the band has. They’re keen to use that spoken-word style still but the instrumental variety around it is staggering. Groovy, bass-led thrills on Fiction with Smith somehow turning faeces-flinging lyrics into poignant moments of cultural commentary is an indicator of how bold and brash the band can be. They’re willing to tool around with their musicality even now and it makes all the difference. Different genres at play, backing an outraged singer trying to make sense of the world around him for an audience trying to do the same but without the time to gauge a specific perspective. The title track is outstanding. As much a call to arms as it is an exemplary moment for a band whose constantly changing instrumental profile is living the purpose of the song. They know there’s a need for a little music, and Yard Act is providing a lot of greats.  

Storytelling successes, wonderful arrangements and a sense of purpose to every moment found spilling out of Smith’s strange recollections of stale sandwiches. A deeper octave to his vocals on the title track and a hammering instrumental break in between those stories are nothing short of beautiful. A career-best after so many others. You’re Gonna Need a Little Music is another dose of what Yard Act does best. There’s a menacing feeling in those latter stages of the album, with Janey Said and lead single Redeemer tipped with such a punk thrill, something the band has toyed with in their live shows over the last few years. Yard Act has offered a little music as an antidote to the horrors of the world around us and it settles in well. A big step for the band, and they land this new style brilliantly.