Yard Act “Where’s My Utopia?” 2024. Island Records, limited edition “Utopian” orange vinyl. The Leeds-based genre-bending, post-punkers/dancy art rockers’ second LP; included in this limited edition release a glossy fold-out insert and nerdy-cool sticker sheet.

While I don’t love this album as much as their debut The Overload, it’s still ultra-original and very, very fun (except when it’s depressing but not in a bad way); it went to #4 in the UK and has been included in many Best of ’24 lists, including those complied by Rolling Stone UK, Rough Trade and Allmusic. Yard Act played a bunch tracks from Where’s My Utopia when we caught them at the quite small X-Ray Arcade this past October (such a fantastic show). Two of my top picks (and ones that made me dance up a frenzy at the show) are the singles “We Make Hits” and “Dream Job,” both high energy punk-disco ass-shakers. Also performed and released as singles were “Petroleum” (which has a darker and more subtle groove) and the upbeat-yet-depressing “When the Laughter Stops” (I have no idea if any of these singles charted), plus the non-singles “Fizzy Fish,” “Down by the Stream,” and “A Vineyard for the North.” There’s a bit too much spoken-word on the record for my tastes (ie “Blackpool Illumination“), but in their spirit of anything goes, that fits Yard Act’s non-classification.