Yard Act

830 E. Burnside St.,Portland OR 97214

19 April, 2022

Description

Yard Act Ages 21+ Touring in support of their debut LP “The Overload” PROOF OF COVID-19 VACCINATION OR NEGATIVE TEST REQUIRED FOR ENTRY Doug Fir is currently requiring COVID-19 vaccination proof, or proof of a negative Covid-19 test result, taken within 48 hours prior to entry. For full, up to date information, please visit dougfirlounge.com/covid THIS EVENT IS 21+ VALID U.S. ID OR PASSPORT REQUIRED YARD ACTInstagram | Facebook | Spearheaded by James Smith (vocals) and Ryan Needham (bass), the now four-piece, completed by Sam Shjipstone (guitar) and Jay Russell (drums), have built a sound that speaks inherently to their birthplace of Leeds, West Yorkshire, and yet ties together observations from all walks of modern British life – the small-town bloke in the local pub, the anti-capitalist stuck at a desk job, the tired activist in all of us torn between easy complicity and the desire to fight. Having grown from relatively casual pub acquaintances to housemates, Smith and Needham found living together to be conducive to a high work rate, racking up demos in quick succession. Settling into a system of programming, looping and layering, the alchemy between the two created a base from which to build their narrative world. “Ryan is a vibe guy, whereas I overthink everything,” laughs Smith. “It’s been the greatest creative partnership I've ever had. When you find a groove that works, it just kind of looks after itself.” With just three hometown shows under their belt, world events intervened. But rather than letting the pandemic derail them Yard Act set up their own imprint, Zen F.C. and across the course of 2020 and into early 2021 released four increasingly coruscating, hilariously dark singles with "The Trapper’s Pelts", "Fixer Upper", "Peanuts" and "Dark Days", all securing BBC 6 Music airplay, and despite the circumstances developing a remarkable, ever increasing fanbase. Pulling off a debut album in a pandemic isn’t easy, but somehow, Yard Act have made it work. Recording with Ali Chant (PJ Harvey, Perfume Genius, Aldous Harding) at his Bristol studio, those prolific demos have been sharpened down into something that speaks to the times we live in, creating a statement of intent that survives on nuance – a record of retro influences, recorded in a modern way. The Overload is a political record, but in the same way that all great observations of human nature are – a messy, complex, knowingly hypocritical snapshot of our current state of play. The Overload is out via Island Records and Zen F.C. on January 7th, 2022. It is available for preorder here