Those who caught the July edition of Philthy Radio (now streaming via Y-Not Radio) recently heard “The Trench Coat Museum” from post-punk rockers Yard Act, a 2023 stand-alone single that has gone on to become a staple in the Leeds-based quartet’s live show. We first heard the track live in the 215 the last time the band played Underground Arts in November of that year. Well, this Wednesday they kick off their North American jaunt behind third LP You’re Gonna Need a Little Music, which dropped last month via Island. The two-and-a-half-week run will have Yard Act returning to Underground Arts on August 15th, and Y-Not Radio currently has a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky winner who votes for this week’s Top 11 @ 11 by Thursday morning. We would highly recommend voting for your chance to win tickets, or just buying them below… Here are Three Reasons why…
1. YOU’RE GONNA NEED A LITLE MUSIC IS GREAT, MAYBE THEIR BEST YET…
The Line of Best Fit (in an 8/10 review) wrote, “This is the sound of a band in maximum flight, not afraid to change direction, still with the open and fun storytelling but immersed in a darker soundscape. It’s a shift that, for the most part works wonderfully well, making this another distinct chapter in Yard Act’s career to date,” of Yard Act’s third full-length, whose production was handled by Justin Meldal-Johnsen, best known for his work with Beck, Nine Inch Nails, and M83, in addition to phriends and phavorites of PHILTHY like St. Vincent, Wolf Alice, and Poppy. DIY Magazine gave the album a perfect 5/5 score, even pulling out a Marshall McLuhan reference as an analogy for vocalist James Smith’s approach to the record’s lyricism. Yard Act has been road testing the material across the UK and Europe since March, including major festivals like Primavera Sound, Rock For People, and Best Kept Secret, along with a record store tour just last month, so it should definitely all be in tip-top shape by the time they get across the pond.
2. IT’LL BE ABOUT TIME TO BE GETTING READY FOR FALL TOURING SEASON
Although good shows have been even fewer and farther between than usual this summer, mid-August will be time to get ready for a fall touring season that’s as busy as ever, including major shows from the likes of Peter Hook, Public Image Ltd, and Beck. And although Yard Act has made the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection a pretty regular stop on their North American tours (They even made a trip to the States in February of 2024 solely to play The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and WXPN’s Free At Noon the following day at World Café Live.), and they’re always great, it’s been almost two years since we’ve seen them, October of 2024 at Union Transfer, and it’s been almost three years since they’ve played the half-the-size Underground Arts, which included the local debuts of the first two singles from 2024 sophomore LP Where’s My Utopia?, in addition to “The Trench Coat Museum.” And I can’t think of a better place than the Eraserhood basement to see the band perform the music of You’re Gonna Need a Little Music for the first time.
3. THE ARMED, THE “WORLD’S GREATEST BAND,” OPEN THE SHOW
“To this group, creating a soothing and reassuring mood as the world burns would be a mendacious, cynical ploy that’s diametrically opposed to the tenets of the band’s belief system,” wrote FLOOD’s Kurt Orzeck of The Future Is Here and Everything Needs to Be Destroyed, the sixth and latest LP from The Armed, the self-proclaimed “World’s Greatest Band” (also “Earth’s Greatest Band” and “the greatest band that has ever existed”), who will be kicking off the night. However, The Armed, technically, might not be a “band,” at least not any more so than Pigface… Creative director and vocalist Tony Wolski has claimed, “The Armed is essentially a socialist art utopia,” with an ever-rotating cast of members, which aren’t necessarily the same on stage as they are in the studio (Contributors, who have numbered well over a hundred, have included the rhythm section of Jane’s Addiction, Julien Baker, Sarah Tudzin/illuminati hotties, Ben Chisholm, and several members of Converge.) However, they’re based in Detroit, signed to Sargent House, and very, very punk (in many different directions). And it’s been quite some time since they’ve played a local show at a venue even close to suited for that designation.
*Get your tickets here.
