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
Somehow Peter Prescott of Mission of Burma and Volcano Suns has another band that I never knew about. Minibeast already released an album that I completely missed back in 2012, and they are currently at work on the follow up, Free Will. Based on a track from the upcoming album, "High Sea," Minibeast shares some common sonic ground with Mission of Burma, but with an added emphasis on the groovy side of things. It's basically the noise and dissonance of Burma but heard through a 60s surf groove, as if Frankie and Annette were punks. You can listen to "High Sea" below. Minibeast currently have a Kickstarter to help fund the final production of Free Will. You can get more information on that here . It should be out sometime in June.
With this weekend's upcoming Newport Folk Festival, we thought we'd highlight some of this year's can't miss acts. We're focusing on the bands playing smaller stages and earlier in the day. I mean, you're obviously going to see Ryan Adams and Jack White. Instead, these are the acts worth getting there early for, and seeking out the smaller stages. Phox Friday, 1:50, Quad Stage Phox hails from Baraboo, WI, the winter home of the Ringling Brothers' Circus. I'm not sure if that is connected to their music or not, but Phox has an otherworldly charm and a magical feel. They come across as a more grounded St. Vincent or a less intense version of early Tori Amos. Their music is simply beautiful and uplifting. Reignwolf Friday, 2:55, Quad Stage Truly pushing the boundaries of what can be considered "folk" are Reignwolf. Reignwolf is Jordan Cook, who sounds like a mixture of The Black Keys and Queens of the Stone Age, mixed with just a lit...
Earlier this week I was expressing sympathy for Limp Bizkit. Limp Bizkit just don't seem to be riding that surge of 90s nostalgia that all sorts of other terrible bands from that era are. Sure, they're terrible. But are they really that much worse than Filter, Alien Ant Farm, and other bands on those 90s nostalgia packages. And then this video is released. The first lyrics to the song are literally "Go fuck yourself." It then features Fred Durst sitting on a toilet, bikini clad chicks pretending to fellate garden hoses and leaf blowers, and Fred Durst talking about fucking bitches, all while wearing a hoodie and a backwards red baseball hat. Then Lil Wayne comes out. Please keep in mind Fred Durst is a 42 year old man.
