LISTEN TO “WE MAKE HITS” HERE
PRE-ORDER WHERE’S MY UTOPIA? HERE
Yard Act unveil their new single, “We Make Hits,” leading into the release of their second album, Where’s My Utopia?, out March 1st, 2024 via Republic Records. “We Make Hits” is a swaggering testament to the sheer unadulterated buzz of creating. Frontman James Smith sings: “Every night on the back of the bus/You know it ain’t no fuss, we’re on the same wage/And we ain’t afraid to get paid on the stage/Fan fiction caught in the act is a fact/If you get your back backed up at that/You won’t be missed/Now we make hits/(But not hits like Nile Rodgers, just that we ain’t hook dodgers)/We make hits, we make hits.” “We Make Hits” follows the album’s two previous singles, “Dream Job,” hailed by Billboard as a “dance track with undeniable fervor and untamed personality,” and “Petroleum,” a song “bound to put you on your feet and strike you down with the fear of the groove all the same” (Paste).
Smith says: “‘We Make Hits’ started like most Yard Act songs do these days, in Ryan’s spare bedroom. He’d recorded a couple of basslines, and I went round to throw some words on top just to see what might happen. I was reflecting on how things had changed so much for us over the last few years, when I realised that sat round a laptop trying to make each other laugh, necking black coffee and craning our heads out of the window to smoke cigs every hour or so, all that had really changed within the writing process was that, thanks to my baby, we were at Ryan’s house rather than mine and that Ryan had a place of his own now, which was nice. Despite the outside blowing up, behind closed doors, we were the same, and I’m grateful for that. You can see the cynicism and the silliness on the surface of ‘We Make Hits’ without much effort, but at its core, for me, it’s really an ode to friendship and the unfiltered joy you feel when you’re making music with the people you hold dear in your life.”
The band once again worked with longterm collaborator James Slater on the “We Make Hits” video. James Smith explains, “We’re back in the Yardiverse, we’re getting the origin story of the hitmen Dynamite Dave and Dudley Sunglasses. A valid parable about the trappings of late capitalism, and the compromises we have to make to survive sometimes.”
Director James Slater says: “For ‘We Make Hits,’ I took a song which charts the origin story of the band and used it to tell the backstory of two hapless hitmen, who upon receiving an eviction notice in their student bedsit, embark on a job search which ultimately leads them to gainful employment as assassins for the holy global enterprise. As ever with the Yard Act vids I’ve made, this vid is part of an ever expanding cinematic universe—a continuation of The Visitor’s journey we began with ‘Trench Coat Museum.’”
Since early 2020, Leeds quartet Yard Act have become one of the great indie success stories of the decade so far. They’ve ticked off milestones ranging from a #2 UK chart placement and Mercury Prize nomination for The Overload, to a co-sign from Elton John who joined the band to guest on a string-laden reworking of album closer “100% Endurance,” to UK and US television debuts and beyond. While the band’s trajectory continuously shot upwards, vocalist Smith and his wife had also welcomed their first child. It’s this dueling sense of responsibility and ambition, guilt, love, drive, and everything in between that forms the narrative backbone of Where’s My Utopia?
Where’s My Utopia? is a communal effort built on chemistry, familiarity, and the trust to challenge and push each other creatively. Written in snapshots of time between a relentless touring schedule, and produced jointly by the band and Gorillaz’ Remi Kabaka Jr., Where’s My Utopia? is a giant leap forward into broad and playful new sonic waters; a celebratory palette sprinkled with strings, choirs, and voice-acting clips courtesy of comedian pals Nish Kumar, Rose Matafeo, and more.
Smith allowed himself to reach lyrically deeper into himself than ever with Where’s My Utopia?. 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,” Smith suggests. “But for me, creativity always seems to be the best way of articulating the absolute minefield of what human existence is.”
Yard Act will tour North America, 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 ONLINE:
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WATCH “PETROLEUM” VIDEO HERE
WATCH “DREAM JOB” VIDEO HERE
WATCH “THE TRENCH COAT MUSEUM” VIDEO HERE
YARD ACT TOUR DATES:
(New Dates in Bold)
Thu. Feb. 29 – Kingston, UK @ Pryzm [SOLD OUT]
Fri. Mar. 1 – Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade
Sun. Mar. 3 – London, UK @ Rough Trade East
Tue. Mar. 5 – Nottingham, UK @ Nottingham, UK
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
Sun. Mar. 24 – Cardiff, UK @ The Great Hall
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
Fri. Apr. 19 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen
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 @ Millennium Square
Sat. Aug. 10 – Oslo, NO @ Oya Festival
Mon. Aug. 12 – Budapest, HU @ Sziget Festival
Fri. Aug. 23 – Southsea, UK @ Victorious Festival
Sat. Aug. 31 – Lisbon, PT @ Meo Kalorama
