Yard Act

Yard Act play the O2 Academy Brixton on Thursday 26 November, their first proper UK headline dates since August 2024. They're a Leeds band built on sprechgesang — that spoken-singing style that defines their sound. Frontman James Smith met bassist Ryan Needham at a house party around 2013 while debating Captain Beefheart versus The Longpigs; they formed in September 2019 when Needham was living in Smith's spare room, fusing Smith's spoken word with Needham's proto-punk demos made on an ancient drum machine and a borrowed bass.

Their debut, The Overload, earned a Mercury nomination and drew comparisons to The Fall, Gang of Four, Pulp and Ian Dury. The 2024 sophomore album Where's My Utopia? leaned into disco, baggy and electronica. Since then they've recorded a third LP, You're Gonna Need a Little Music, produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen and split between Leeds and Los Angeles. These shows are their first headline dates on home soil in over two years, so the set will likely pull from across the three records.

If you're coming from the early stuff, the The Overload era is the one most people associate with them — the spoken-word delivery and the post-punk edges. Where's My Utopia? shifted the mood towards the dancefloor, and the new album You're Gonna Need a Little Music comes from a split between Leeds and LA, produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen. Between the three, there's enough to build a full set without leaning too heavily on any one period.

It's Thursday 26 November at the O2 Academy Brixton in London.