Yard Act “The Overload” 2022. Island Records. Limited edition “Ghetto Lettuce” green vinyl. We caught Yard Act last night at X-Ray Arcade (Cudahy) and holy sh*t what a show! Sold-out, energy to the ceiling, non-stop dancing (I estimate I danced about 1.5 miles from the number of steps my watch tracked). Definitely one of the top performances we’ve seen this year, probably ranks in the top 50 of all time. Lyrically heavy with social commentary, they make politics an all-out party with a combo of funk, disco, no-wave, alt-dance and a stage chock-full with musicians (James Smith-vocals, Ryan Needham-bass, Sam Shipstone-guitar, Jay Russell-drums, Chris Duffin-sax/keys) and two stellar backup singers/dancers/hype-women Lauren Fitzpatrick and Daisy Smith. Fitzpatrick and Smith also provided rhythm backup with tambourines and some device that had the Prince symbol Ƭ̵̬̊  I have no idea what it does or really how to explain it but it was very cool.

The Overload is Yard Act’s debut LP (they released an EP in 2021); it went to #2 in the UK. Just like the show, it’s almost a non-stop party but smart, a little biting and, at times, arty/weird. They played a bunch of tracks from The Overload last night, fortunately all of my favorites. They led off with “Dead Horse” (a sharp critique on capitalism and racism, to a great groovy beat!), followed by another favorite “Payday” and “Land of the Blind.”

My absolute top pick is the title track “The Overload” – I’m pretty sure this one put me over the mile mark for dance steps and by this time I was absolutely dripping with sweat (as was the band); they followed it up with “100% Endurance” (the album closer). Not shown on the set list was the encore, “Witness” – another favorite – which was short, punky, fast and brilliant.

They also played several songs from their latest release, Where’s My Utopia? (2024), also fantastic. Hoping to see Yard Act again soon – though I’m not sure it will be at such a small venue again.