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Yard Act review – a band having fun in the midst of an identity crisis

Seeming to play their jagged post-punky early material with some reluctance, the Leeds band strike out into bold new territory with hypnotic electronic grooves, disco stompers – and a Napalm Death collab

A crowd member is brought up on stage to spin a wheel, offering a one-time-only chance to hear a randomly selected song from the band’s 2021 debut EP Dark Days. Three years on, with the band seemingly feeling restricted by their own earlier sonic template – one which they created, by their own admission, in a deliberate attempt to board the last train out of post-punksville at the end of the decade – they return with a more electronic rock-leaning sound. On new tracks such as When the Laughter Stops, they glide into LCD Soundsystem territory, stretching out pulsing beats and hypnotic rhythms into locked grooves, while Dream Job veers closer to Ian Dury with its almost pub-rock disco stomp.

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