YARD ACT RELEASE NEW SINGLE, “PETROLEUM,”
FROM WHERE’S MY UTOPIA?, OUT MARCH 1ST 2024 ON REPUBLIC
WATCH THE VIDEO STARRING ROSE MATAFEO
Photo Credit: Phoebe Fox
“Where’s My Utopia? suggest that the British rock group is ready to burst forward with new ideas.”
— Billboard
“The jaunty, funk-pop production only makes [Yard Act's] commentary seem all the more biting.”
— Pitchfork
“‘Dream Job' embodies the millennial ennui of realizing that even your most ideal work scenario is still work at the end of the day." — Consequence
FROM WHERE’S MY UTOPIA?, OUT MARCH 1ST 2024 ON REPUBLIC
WATCH THE VIDEO STARRING ROSE MATAFEO
Photo Credit: Phoebe Fox
“Where’s My Utopia? suggest that the British rock group is ready to burst forward with new ideas.”
— Billboard
“The jaunty, funk-pop production only makes [Yard Act's] commentary seem all the more biting.”
— Pitchfork
“‘Dream Job' embodies the millennial ennui of realizing that even your most ideal work scenario is still work at the end of the day." — Consequence
Today, Yard Act present their new single, “Petroleum,” another taste of their forthcoming second album, Where’s My Utopia?, out March 1st on Republic. The accompanying “Petroleum” video is a continuation of the prior James Slater-directed videos for “Dream Job” and “The Trench Coat Museum,” and stars friend of the band, comedian and creator of Starstruck, Rose Matafeo.
“Petroleum” lives on the second half of Where’s My Utopia?, which simultaneously contains some of Yard Act’s most grimly real and fantastically optimistic narratives yet. It was written after a touring nadir. “I lost it with the crowd in Bognor Regis and told them I was bored and I didn’t want to be there,” Yard Act’s frontman James Smith recalls. “Me and Ryan [Needham] had a row after, and Ryan rightly dressed me down for the way I acted. It got me pondering the idea that, now this is a job, what are the requirements of it? People think they want honesty but they don’t, they want me to portray the version of honesty that they've paid to see and that’s part of the illusion.”
Speaking about the ‘Petroleum’ video, Smith says: “‘Petroleum’ finds The Visitor as she stumbles into the hideout of a fearsome Biker gang called The Utopians. She's still on the run from the H.G.E agents. It was a lot of fun shooting this video, and a joy to watch our friend Rose Matafeo bring the leader of The Utopians to life. Though the story isn't being told in a linear format, I hope that the journey of The Visitor through the last three videos is starting to come together and reveal that we're working on something bigger here. More to come!”
Rose Matafeo added: “I screen most of my phone calls, but when the phone flashes up 'JAMES YARD ACT' you're gonna pick that up straight away. To feature in a Yard Act video has been on my bucket list ever since I added it to my bucket list after they asked me so I could have the satisfaction of crossing it off my bucket list. The overall vision for this album is so creatively ambitious and fun and cool and I'm so stoked to even be a little part of it. Sorry for my bad accent. Not sorry for the line dancing.”
Watch Yard Act’s “Petroleum” Video
Where’s My Utopia? follows Yard Act’s Mercury Prize shortlisted debut The Overload, “a debut album bursting with character” (Uncut), and was co-produced by Yard Act and Gorillaz member Remi Kabaka Jr. Written in snapshots of time in the midst of touring, the album is a giant leap forward into broad and playful new sonic waters, sprinkled with strings, choirs, and voice-acting clips courtesy of comedian pals Nish Kumar, Rose Matafeo, and more. Where’s My Utopia? is a communal four-way effort built on chemistry, familiarity and the trust to challenge and push each other creatively. “The main reason that ‘post-punk’ was the vehicle for Album One was because it was really affordable to do, but we always liked so much other music and this time we've had the confidence to embrace it,” James explains.
It’s a celebratory palette upon which Smith allowed himself to reach lyrically deeper into himself than ever. Gone, largely, are the outward-facing character studies of yore, replaced with a set of songs that stare fully into the headlights of life, wrangling with the frontman’s own fears and foibles to create a sort of Promethean narrative - but with jokes. This dueling sense of responsibility and ambition, guilt, love, drive and everything in between forms the narrative backbone of Where’s My Utopia?, Yard Act’s brilliantly exploratory second album. “You can commit to the idea that we’re just animals who eat and fuck and then we die, and that’s fine,” Smith suggests. “But for me, creativity always seems to be the best way of articulating the absolute minefield of what human existence is.”
Next year, Yard Act will embark on a tour of North American, Europe and the UK, including a hometown headline show at the 5,750 capacity Millennium Square Leeds. A full list of tour dates is below, and tickets are on sale now.
Yard Act Tour Dates
Sat. Dec. 2 - Bangkok, TH @ Maho Rasop Festival
Sun. Dec. 3 - Hong Kong, HK @ Clockenflap Festival
Tue. Dec. 5 - Osaka, JP @ Shangri-la
Thu. Dec. 7 - Tokyo, JP @ Club Quattro
Wed. Mar. 13 - Norwich, UK @ The Nick Rayns LCR (UEA)
Thu. Mar. 14 - Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
Fri. Mar. 15 - Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy
Sat. Mar. 16 - Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo
Sun. Mar. 17 - Newcastle, UK @ Northumbria University
Tue. Mar. 19 - Belfast, UK @ Mandela Hall
Wed. Mar. 20 - Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
Fri. Mar. 22 - Liverpool, UK @ Invisible Wind Factory
Sat. Mar. 23 - Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
Mon. Mar. 25 - Brighton, UK @ The Dome
Wed. Mar. 27 - London, UK @ Eventim Apollo
Thu. Apr. 4 - Nantes, FR @ Stereolux
Fri. Apr. 5 - Paris, FR @ Cabaret Sauvage
Sat. Apr. 6 - Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey
Mon. Apr. 8 - Lisbon, PT @ LAV
Tue. Apr. 9 - Madrid, ES @ Mon
Thu. Apr. 11 - Barcelona, ES @ La 2
Fri. Apr. 12 - Lyon, FR @ Le Transbordeur
Sat. Apr. 13 - Bologna, IT @ Locomotiv Club
Sun. Apr. 14 - Milan, IT @ Santeria Toscana 31
Tue. Apr. 16 - Zurich, CH @ Mascotte
Wed. Apr. 17 - Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
Thu. Apr. 18 - Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
Sat. Apr. 20 - Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan
Wed. Apr. 24 - Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich
Thu. Apr. 25 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Main Hall
Fri. Apr. 26 - Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
Sat. Apr. 27 - Cologne, DE @ Kantine
Sun. Apr. 28 - Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Botanique
Thu. May 30 - Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
Fri. May 31 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater
Sat. Jun. 1 - Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy and Harriet’s
Mon. Jun. 3 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium
Tue. Jun. 4 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Thu. Jun. 6 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Fri. Jun. 7 - Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
Sat. Jun. 8 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Sat. Aug. 3 - Leeds, UK @ Millenium Square
Praise for Yard Act’s “Dream Job” and “The Trench Coat Museum”
“There’s a specific zaniness to its eight-minute single ‘The Trench Coat Museum’ that makes it sound like a long-lost alternative-rock radio novelty hit from the late 1990s, albeit with a killer groove and an extended outro that beckons to the dance floor” - New York Times
"'The Trench Coat Museum' is a quantum leap for the Leeds combo, an eight-minute extravaganza that manages to be sly and euphoric all at once" - Stereogum
"'Dream Job' is less post-punk and more finds the band embracing an upbeat dance-rock vibe."
— Under the Radar
“[‘Dream Job’ is] a dashingly catchy and plentifully rapturous dance track that takes cues from LCD Soundsystem without losing their own ridiculously intoxicating charm” — Paste
"'Dream Job' is nihilistic and wry...reminiscent of the prominent indie acts of the late ‘90s." — Exclaim
“Super catchy cut…with some great grooves, great bass lines, vibrant and fun lyrics, can’t wait for this band’s next full length, that’s for sure.” — The Needle Drop
"'The Trenchcoat Museum' finds Yard Act adding more electronic elements to their post-punk inspired sound, and with its fun percussion, the song's an instant grabber." - Brooklyn Vegan
“With crescendoing disco-funk grooves and a punk-rock snarl, this young quartet from Leeds, England, is the must-see newcomer of the season for record-store clerks and indie-rock musicheads.”
— Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Yard Act is a band you must see in person [...] it’s impossible not to love it when you see Yard Act perform live.” — Luckbox
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