Yard Act eye a fresh start after fame got weird
James Smith says Yard Act’s third album wrestles with the comedown after success, isolation after touring and a possible prog detour with Elton John.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
Yard Act’s James Smith says the band’s new album comes from the strange comedown after getting what they had been chasing.
In an interview with Rolling Stone UK, Smith and bassist Ryan Needham discussed the Leeds group’s third record, You’re Gonna Need a Little Music, and the unsettled period that followed the band’s rapid rise from post-punk hopefuls to Mercury Prize nominees.
Smith said the album opener, “Empty Pledges,” begins with him declaring that he has nothing new to say, but the line came from feeling overwhelmed when old acquaintances in Leeds asked what he had been doing after years of watching the band’s life unfold online.
According to Smith, returning home after tour made him realize how cut off the band’s world had become. He told Rolling Stone UK that he would often call Needham even after spending months with him on the road, because the experience felt difficult to explain to people outside the group.
From breakthrough buzz to the aftermath
Yard Act released their debut album, The Overload, in 2022. Rolling Stone UK noted that the record’s mix of sharp guitars, post-punk energy and character-driven lyrics earned the band a Mercury Prize nomination.
Elton John also became a high-profile supporter, later appearing with Yard Act on a new version of “100% Endurance.” Their second album, Where’s My Utopia?, put Smith’s response to growing attention at the center of the songs and led to some of the band’s biggest shows so far.
Smith framed the new record as the next chapter after ambition and arrival. He told Rolling Stone UK the first album dealt with wanting more, the second with getting it, and the third with what remains afterward. He said success had not fixed his personal complications, even though the band now gets to write, record and perform full time.
The new album includes the single “Redeemer,” which Smith described to Rolling Stone UK as a reset after Where’s My Utopia?. The record was made partly in Leeds and partly in Los Angeles with producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen, whose credits include Nine Inch Nails and Wolf Alice.
Los Angeles gave the band room to work
Smith said the Los Angeles sessions helped pull the album together because the band were away from home pressures such as childcare, relationships and jobs. Needham told Rolling Stone UK that having space from daily responsibilities can make a real difference in the studio, including during vocal takes.
The record also brings in a new figure, Janey, on “Janey Said.” Smith explained to Rolling Stone UK that the “old flame” in the song is tied to looking inward at his own ambition and the unease that comes with being driven.
Needham and Smith said the band, completed by drummer Jay Russell and guitarist Sam Shipstone, remains close. The interview also revisited a difficult Bognor Regis show that inspired “Petroleum” from the second album, after Smith reacted sharply to what he saw as a flat crowd response.
Smith said Yard Act have gradually become less centered on him as frontman, with the newer album using fewer words and giving more space to the full group. He described that shift to Rolling Stone UK as a marker of a strong band.
There may be more surprises waiting. Smith said an unreleased track called “On Top” pushes into heavier territory, comparing it to Metallica’s “Master of Puppets.” He also said he has not spoken to Elton John for some time, but that John had expressed interest in making a prog album with Yard Act.
This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.