Last March, they unleashed their 2nd longplayer, titled WHERE’S MY UTOPIA.
A bit of ‘The Overload’ #2, sonically that is. Weird, as a fresh sensation, YA already sound familiar with their wayward, hip-and-head shaking grooves and James Smith ‘s non-stop parlando and his poetic stories. Who cares that they sound familiar as long as they keep on throwing super sticky hits at our ears, on repeat, like this one.
The concert was a rhapsodic celebration of the end of a 2-month tour around the UK/Europe. Yard Act left it all on the floor as if it was their final gig ever. Performing
with extra help from two utterly cool female soul singers, a sassy saxophonist and
all amps to the max, the crowd went into a euphoric trance from start to finish. Not one
body wasn’t moving. Smiles and elation everywhere.
During the finale, Smith thanked everybody on stage and the whole YA team for
the past two months and invited the audience for support for Palestine, Ukraine
and Soedan. The Leeds team and all of us found their Utopia in Brussels.
Without a shadow of a doubt one of the best concerts of 2024. Hands down.
British indie rockers YARD ACT shot to the top like a
comet last year with their ace debut LP The Overload.
Last summer they came back with a high-caliber, stand-alone single,
named The Trench Coat Museum. A harbinger for album number two,
titled, WHERE’S MY UTOPIA that is out now.
Press info:” The return of Yard Act. Where’s My Utopia? is the follow up to the Leeds
band’s critically-acclaimed debut record The Overload which arrived in January 2022. 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. Across the record, influences ranging from Fela Kuti to Ennio Moricone via Spiller’s ‘00s pop smash ‘Groovejet’ make themselves known.”
NME: “The Leeds quartet seek to obliterate the ‘post-punk’ tag with an eccentric second album that’s packed with surprises… Co-produced by Remi Kakaba Jr of Gorillaz, ‘Where’s My Utopia?’ is sonically playful from the get-go. Where’s My Utopia?’ marks an outlandish yet assertive second chapter for Yard Act, going toe-to-toe with the peculiar world that we find ourselves in.” Score: 4/5.
TUTV: Sonically much richer and versatile than YA’s debut, and they still make your
hips sway, your feet move from left to right and back, and your head shake in circles, “we make hits”, and that’s what counts the most to my ears.
Yep, 10 sickly sticky tunes and one 7+ minute spoken-word story with waterfall
wordsmith vocalist James Smith, who became a father amidst touring and dealing
with sudden fame, asking himself “I attained perfection / So why the fuck was I still
wondering what wankers would think of album two?”. Give it a couple of spins and
you will discover a masterly entertaining record.
Yard Act will get even bigger than they already are.
Singles/clips: Dream Job / Petroleum / We Make Hits
In order to not miss a beat Turn Up The Volume scans the musical
horizon daily (doing it for years now, actually) to stay in touch with
all new things sonically great and shares the results on a weekly
basis.
Check the 10 new rad cuts just
added to this rad 2024 playlist.
British indie rockers Yard Act shot to the indie top like a comet,
last year with their superb debut long-player The Overload.
They decided to keep the celebrity moment going. Their second LP, baptized
Where’s My Utopia will show up on 1 March. This new single features Kate J
Pearson on vocals.
21 tells us the complicated story of an old flame of frontman Jarred Young.
15 years and a not insignificant amount of therapy later, Young turns his gaze
back on that period of time with a sense of closure and resolution, and a degree
of compassion for his past self.
21 sounds like NYC darlings Vampire Weekend on a roll with jangly
guitars, a firm drum/bass collaboration, eager vocals, and a rad chorus.
Aphrodite is a piece from this Dutch duo’s second album Into The Realm Of Love
which lands on 8 March. “A duet written as a sort of myth”, is about a man trying
to prove his worth to a woman who Is only interested in what he can do for her.
If you never heard of 60s glam-pop duo Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazzlewood you’ll
have a crystal clear idea of those sensual stars when Donna Blue lands on your
earphones with this seductive, idyllic and alluring tune. Fanciful voices, Chris Isaak-like guitar play, and a glowing 60s Hammond-sounding organ are beautifully interwoven,
with a bittersweet pop pearl as the final result.
Last night at the Super Bowl game a Beyoncé commercial was screened announcing her new album Act II, the sequel to her 2022 album Renaissance. It’s out on March 29. And today the giga star dropped 2 new tracks, with earworm Texas Hold ‘Em as one of the two.
6. ‘All The Love We Bring’ byTHE GOODIES (San Diego)
California reggae/rock/soul band The Goodies founded/led by Justin Goodman (“Goodie”) and Zan, launched their self-titled, 6-track Debut EP last week with ‘All The Love We Bring’
as the focus track.
Goodman: “It’s a liberating song about how at the end of the day, love is really all we have to give and receive. It’s upbeat and to the point incorporating Reggae, Dub, rock, and soul. “All the Love We Bring” is a song for the people who suffer at the expense of the elite, intended to set us all free!”
Stimulating tunes like this elevating one are always welcome on my headphones, in these anxious and disturbed times. Its sunlit melodiousness, reggae vibrations, sprightly vocals and hip-shaking chorus will put a big smile on your face.
The New Zealand celebs are coming and going and coming
back again (1985–1996, 2006–2011, 2016, 2019–present).
The band’s orchestrator Neil Finn already shared a demo of this song
a couple years ago, and it’s inspired by his work with the non-profit
organization So They Can, which builds schools in Kenya and Tanzania.
“I’m hoping the song comes across without needing to know the backstory.
But it’s very much inspired by these incredible kids and their magnificence.”
HO HI is a glorious sing/hum/whistle along pop
ditty with joyful choir harmonies on the chorus.
8. ‘Silent Solitude’ by AVES feat. Markus Perttula (Finland)
This Finnish three-piece launch their debut album Transformations
on 22 March via Kieku Records.
“Being present means embracing the current moment, allowing yourself to disconnect from distractions and fully engage with what’s happening now. It involves focusing on what truly matters, letting go of unnecessary worries or minor details that might cloud your perception. Ultimately, it’s recognizing that in the grand scheme of things, many of the small stressors or concerns fade away when we prioritise the present and cherish what’s essential in our lives.”
This quixotic synth-pop piece invites you to live in the moment. Silent Solitude attracts with its ongoing dance groove, its sticky beats, and its utopian vocals. Sonic food for blue-sky daydreamers.
‘Vuja De’ flips the words “déjà vu,” delving into the essence of Lovetta’s breakup song.
It takes you on a journey of something or someone once familiar feeling strange and unfamiliar, echoing the universal ebb and flow of relationships.
This haunting tune driven by an entrancing, rotating riff and Lovetta’s emotive vocals
draw your aural attention from start to finish. Its tantalizing flow works like a magnet. Irresistible.
Blues rock tandem The Black Keys have canned their 12th LP. It’s called Ohio Players and materializes on 5 April. It’ll feature their cover of this 1968 song by the now 84-year-old soul man William Bell.
In order to not miss a beat Turn Up The Volume scans the musical
horizon daily (doing it for years now, actually) to stay in touch with
all new things sonically great and shares the results on a weekly
basis.
Check the 10 new rad cuts just
added to this rad 2024 playlist.
ALL TOGETHER
. TRACK-BY-TRACK
A CERTAIN RATIO, the post-punk legends from Manchester
have a new single, named ALL COMES TO THIS of their same-titled
album that will land on April 19.
Sonically, a pretty cool surprise. It’s an unusual
psych-poppy ACR earworm, but it works perfectly.
Artist: METRO VERLAINE Who: Axel on guitar and Raphaëlle on vocals lock themselves in a small Ebroïcian
apartment to work there day and night. The compositions are refined and the minimalist drum machine becomes an asset for the duo. Post-punk lover first wave and the wild scene of CBGB’s, Metro Verlaine gradually refines its identity musical.
New single: POP SAUVAGE
The title track from their upcoming
3rd album, out on 9 February.
Pop Sauvage is an orchestral rock juggernaut with a riveting drive.
Galvanising and energising. Add Raphaëlle arousing vocals and
you know we have a winner.
New single: SOGGY CIGARETTE “The song processes how the modern world makes Abisgold feel, and
resonates with a young generation wondering where we’re all headed.”
Expect a pithy piece of pop bliss that sticks on the spot and trigger
your limbs’ movements just like Beck does when he goes disco.
A riff-roaring ripper turning up the heat along its intense pace. January Sixteen
is a mean groove machine that holds your aural attention for six stormy minutes.
Artist: MATT-FELIX Who: An Anglo-French musician who spent his early youth on the island of Bali
that helped to inspire his eclectic and left field songwriting style which draws on
a wide range of influences and moods.
A song about how sometimes we find ourselves split in two. One half wanting
to be brave and make that change, while the other half trembles with fear of
the unknown.
Splendid pop debut. Richly constructed, evoking impassioned emotions. Matt-Felix‘s poignant vocals infuse the song with a sensitive urgency and when the chorus pops
up it’s as if Matt-Felix is backed by an electrifying orchestra. Notable score.
A poignant song exploring the overwhelming feelings of isolation
and loneliness that accompany emigration. Rain embodies TV People‘s
introspective style, echoing the band’s defiant struggle against
disconnection.
It’s a distressed reverie that stirs and moves from start to
finish with electrical panache. Sonic and vocal catharsis. Gripping.
Artist: KABIR GREEN Who: Singer-songwriter raised on an organic farm without gas or TV, who fell in love
with music through an eclectic stack of his parents’ records. Inspired by The Beatles, Jackson Browne, Ali Farka Toure, John Cage and Bill Evans, he taught himself to play guitar at 13 and began to write and record his own songs on an ancient 4-track reel to reel.
Green: “It’s about struggling with one’s doubts and demons, and discovering hope and light by seeing the world through the eyes of a loved one – even if they feel lost themselves. It’s about how we find ourselves through connection. ”
I See Gold is a soothing musing that causes a dreamy, yearning experience.
The smooth vocals and tinkling guitar sparks accentuate the wondering
sentiments at play.
James Smith (frontman): “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. Meanwhile 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.”
Can’t argue with that. They produce (from their debut LP on) tune after tune after
tune. It’s what they do, it’s their dream job and their reward is, deservedly, gigantic.
British indie rockers YARD ACT shot to the top like a
comet last year with their ace debut LP The Overload.
Last summer they came back with a high-caliber, stand-alone single,
named The Trench Coat Museum. A harbinger for album number two,
titled, WHERE’S MY UTOPIA that will show up on 1 March 2024.
Press info:” The return of Yard Act. Where’s My Utopia? is the follow up to the Leeds band’s critically-acclaimed debut record The Overload which arrived in January 2022. 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. Across the record, influences ranging from Fela Kuti to Ennio Moricone via Spiller’s ‘00s pop smash ‘Groovejet’ make themselves known.”
In order to not miss a beat Turn Up The Volume scans the musical
horizon daily (doing it for years now, actually) to stay in touch with
all new things sonically great and shares the results on a weekly
basis.
Check the 10 new rad cuts just
added to this rad 2023 playlist.
This Italian punk-rock songwriter is gearing up for his
4th album, ‘Life Burns‘ set for release on 1 March 2024.
Ahead of it, you can go bonkers to his new single Off My Chest
De La Vega: “The way interactions shape the way we are, especially in the formative years, is often under-looked. It took me a while to understand that some features of my personality exist and to face them openly, to be outspoken and verbal about them felt immediately redemptive and even liberating during the writing of the lyrics.”
Holy smoke! Off My Chest is a hurly-burly glam stormer. Wham bloody wham bam it goes while De La Vega exorcizes his demons. Riffs fly all over the place and make you want to start a one-man moshpit.
Photo: Catalino Alvarez Jr / Cat Eye View Photography
Long-running San Diego/Temecula gunslingers return
with a new head-over-heels steamroller It’s Not A Phase.
“We joke around that when people like our wives first met us, they thought the band was a temporary phase. Now, decades later, we’re still going strong. While being in a band has great potential to be disruptive to the rest our lives, it is in fact the glue that holds us together.”
This easily could be a bonus track on Blink-182‘s new LP One More Time. This haymaker’s head-spinning velocity has a similar rapid-fire and breakneck dash. Dive in, go nuts.
These young swirling wolves have all punk burners and rock cylinders on. Fast-forward all the way. No breaks, no brakes, no mistakes. Ablaze drum/bass, manic riffs, agitated vocals and a blistering chorus combine for a fiery flamethrower that tests your stereo’s flexibility.
Petroleum is the 2nd single. A lazy funky-bass and hip-shaking sucker-punch.
James Smith (frontman) “I lost it with the crowd in Bognor Regis and told them I was bored and I didn’t want to be there,” frontman James Smith said in a statement about the song. Me and Ryan [Needham] had a row after, and Ryan rightly dressed me down for the way I acted. It got me pondering the idea that, now this is a job, what are the requirements of it? People think they want honesty but they don’t, they want me to portray the version of honesty that they’ve paid to see and that’s part of the illusion.”
Tunnel Lights is the 3rd piece from the forthcoming LP, Wolfe offers us.
Wolfe: “‘Tunnel Lights’ is about actually living instead of just ‘getting by.
It’s about waking up to the fact that you’ve been languishing in the dark
and it’s time to start taking steps towards the lights that’ll guide you out
of the tunnel-cave.”
6. ‘Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi’ by LOGAN’S CLOSE (Scotland)
It’s the title track of the quality-crafted debut album by this Scottish baroque pop duo.
It evolves slowly from a sepia-colored Beirut vibe with heartfelt organ fragments
to a highly emotive post-break-up cry out that stirs heart and soul. Stellar achievement.
This fresh captivating Liverpool act shines with chilling verve and impassioned flair
on this electrifying power ballad with its stupendous vocals and its mighty imposing
chorus. Better than before is an astonishing stonker of a song.
Having lost her eldest brother in May of 2021 NYC-based songstress Kiirstin Marilyn
has written an extremely personal yet universal 6-track EP, titled Kristoffer that will
take listeners on a heartfelt journey through a spectrum of emotions. With soulful lyrics, unforgettable melodies, and a raw, emotive delivery, this EP is a testament to the power
of storytelling through music. Stream it here.
Real Life is one of the breathtaking highlights. A sky-scraping vocal tour de force. Combined with the mind-blowing guitar play the emotionality runs high. Music can be a healing force. I hope it works for Marilyn.
Singer-songwriter Campbell displayed her moving vocal warmth before and she does one again on Too Late. A magnificent musing with both subtle and charming acoustic guitar sparks, tender piano touches, and angelic backing vocals near the end. High-quality songwriting. Don’t miss this tender little pearl.
British indie rockers YARD ACT shot to the top like a
comet last year with their ace debut LP The Overload.
Last summer they came back with a high-caliber, stand-alone single,
named The Trench Coat Museum. A harbinger for album number two.
WHERE’S MY UTOPIA shows up on 1 March 2024. Pre-order info here.
Album artwork
Following infectious lead-single Dream Job they just dropped a 2nd one
called PETROLEUM. A bang-on bass-funky corker that triggers limbs action.
James Smith (frontman) “I lost it with the crowd in Bognor Regis and told them I was bored and I didn’t want to be there,” frontman James Smith said in a statement about the song. Me and Ryan [Needham] had a row after, and Ryan rightly dressed me down for the way I acted. It got me pondering the idea that, now this is a job, what are the requirements of it? People think they want honesty but they don’t, they want me to portray the version of honesty that they’ve paid to see and that’s part of the illusion.”
