Yard Act - Where’s My Utopia?
Black Vinyl LP Record
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Where’s My Utopia? is the second studio album by British rock band Yard Act, released in March 2024 via Island Records.
Where’s My Utopia? is the follow up to the Leeds band’s critically-acclaimed debut record The Overload which arrived in January 2022. The Overload was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize after a slew of positive reviews, national radio playlistings and a placing at #2 in the UK Album Charts.
Since first steering into swift public acclaim back in 2020, Leeds quartet Yard Act have become one of the great indie success stories of the decade so far. Yet, whilst the band’s trajectory continuously shot upwards, vocalist James Smith and his wife had also welcomed in a son. And it’s this duelling sense of responsibility and ambition, guilt, love, drive and everything in between that forms the narrative backbone of brilliantly exploratory second album Where’s My Utopia?
Written in snapshots of time between a relentless touring schedule, and produced jointly by the band and Gorillaz’ Remi Kabaka Jr, the quartet’s second act is a giant leap forward into broad and playful new sonic waters. “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. Across the record, influences ranging from Fela Kuti to Ennio Moricone via Spiller’s ‘00s pop smash ‘Groovejet’ make themselves known.
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.
“You can commit to the idea that we’re just animals who eat and fuck and then we die, and that’s fine,” he suggests. “But for me, creativity always seems to be the best way of articulating the absolute minefield of what human existence is.”
Speaking to NME, Yard Act frontman James Smith said that recording the album felt much more freeing compared to The Overload, and that they didn't feel bound by any musical restrictions. A departure from the post-punk sound of their previous work, Where's My Utopia? is a pop, "party album", inspired by disco. Smith said the band went "harder on the hooks and crafted better songs."
Where's My Utopia? received widespread critical acclaim upon release. On review aggregator Metacritic, it has a score of 88 out of 100, based on fifteen reviews, citing "universal acclaim".
This album is on black vinyl housed in a single pocket sleeve with a printed inner sleeve, pressed in Europe via Island Records.
(19053)
Tracklisting:
No. |
Track |
Time |
A1 |
An Illusion |
3:36 |
A2 |
We Make Hits |
3:02 |
A3 |
Down By the Stream |
3:44 |
A4 |
The Undertow |
4:02 |
A5 |
Dream Job |
2:39 |
A6 |
Fizzy Fish |
3:30 |
B1 |
Petroleum |
3:39 |
B2 |
When The Laughter Stops |
3:17 |
B3 |
Grifter’s Grief |
3:19 |
B4 |
Blackpool Illuminations |
7:28 |
B5 |
A Vineyard For The North |
5:03 |
SKU | 19053 |
Record Label | Island Records |
Label / Model # | Universal |
Catalogue Number | ZENFC025LP |
Country | EU - Europe |
Release Date (Year) | 01 March 2024 |
Original Release Date (Year) | 01 March 2024 |
Barcode # | 602458508369 |
Shipping Weight | 0.3200kg |
Shipping Width | 0.010m |
Shipping Height | 0.314m |
Shipping Length | 0.314m |
Shipping Cubic | 0.000986000m3 |
Type | New |
Format | Limited Edition LP Record, Black Vinyl, Single Pocket Sleeve, Printed Inner Sleeve |
Vinyl Colour | Black |
Format | VINYL LP |
Genre | Rock & Popular |
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