We loved Yard Act's debut album The Overload, and now the Leeds post-punk band is back with a new single. "Dream Job" expands on their post-punk sound with a heavy and somewhat unexpected dose of funk. It sounds a little bit sunnier than what we've become accustomed to from them. "Dream Job" is an odd mixture of Cake, Britpop keys, and some 80's futuristic effects along with Yard Act's traditional song. It sounds like they're throwing everything they can at this one, and somehow it works out perfectly. This new single is a ton of fun, and has us very curious what they'll be up to next.
Vocalist James Smith says of the new single:
“In part, I was scrutinizing and mocking myself for being a moaning ungrateful little brat, whilst also trying to address how the music industry is this rather uncontrollable beast that hurtles forward unthinkingly and every single person involved in it plays their part. Myself included, obviously. As with pretty much everything else going through my head last year, trying to find the right time to articulate the complexity of emotions I was feeling and the severity to which I was feeling them couldn't be found - or accommodated, so instead I tried to capture it in a pop song that lasts less than three minutes once the fog had cleared a bit. It’s good and bad. I'm still glad that everything that happened to me happened.”
You can watch the video for "Dream Job" below. Where's My Utopia? is due out March 1 on Republic Records, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Yard Act, check out the band's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
Thu. Nov. 2 - Reykjavik, IS @ Iceland Airwaves Sat. Nov. 4 - Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw Sun. Nov. 5 - Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts Mon. Nov. 6 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar Tue. Nov. 7 - Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall Thu. Nov. 9 - Nashville, TN @ The Basement East Fri. Nov. 10 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl Sat. Nov. 11 - New Orleans, LA @ Toulouse Theatre Tue. Nov. 14 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk Wed. Nov. 15 - Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Company Fri. Nov. 17 - Mexico City, MX @ Corona Capital Festival Sat. Dec. 2 - Bangkok, TH @ Maho Rasop Festival Sun. Dec. 3 - Hong Kong, HK @ Clockenflap Festival Tue. Dec. 5 - Osaka, JP @ Shangri-la Thu. Dec. 7 - Tokyo, JP @ Club Quattro 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 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 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 @ Millenium Square
Photo by Alexa Viscius This may be Liam Kazar's debut single, but the Chicago based musician already has an impressive resume, having worked with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and others. "Shoes Too Tight" features childhood friend Spencer Tweedy on drums, Lane Beckstrom on bass, and Ohmme on vocals. It's an absurdly fun and groovy little song that is a party waiting to happen. What he gives us here is a timeless song that could truly have been released any time since the 1960's (ok... maybe not the 80's...) There are elements of classic rock, 60's crooners and R&B, indie rock, modern Americana... it's really just packed with everything in a cohesive song that maintains the vibe the entire way through. You can watch the video for "Shoes Too Tight" below. For more on Liam Kazar, check him out on Instagram and Twitter . He's also raising money on his Bandcamp for Constellation and The Hungry Brain. ...
Photo via Facebook When you're a rock band from Salem, MA, you have to have at least one song about witchcraft. The Freqs have fulfilled their obligation with a banger of a song. "Witch" is this giant monster of a song, filled with fuzz and strained, screaming vocals. This is the type of song that doesn't usually exist in this century. It's giving me some serious 90's flashbacks, like if Hum got aggressive or Alice in Chains decided to do some damage on the college charts. As great as the vocals are in "Witch," what's really drawing me in is the instrumental break down that takes over about halfway through. This is the kind of song to make the hipsters and the headbangers equally excited. You can listen to "Witch" below. For more on The Freqs, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram . The Freqs · Witch
How is Dutch ReBelle not a national superstar at this point? The Boston MC just released "GOONIEZ," and I know I'm a bit out of touch with current mainstream hip hop, but this song is absolutely killer. It's a stripped down hip hop song that has this futuristic space age sound to it. Plus, ReBelle's flow is unsurpassed. You can't listen to her and not be completely sucked in. The song has a feel reminiscent of classic Missy Elliott. As much as I love that we can still see Dutch ReBelle in smaller Boston venues, "GOONIEZ" proves she should be playing much larger venues nationwide very, very soon. You can watch the video for "GOONIEZ" below. For more on Dutch ReBelle, check out the artist's website .
