The rising British band’s most musically adventurous album yet delivers rousing highs, even if a few songs struggle to keep pace
The British rock band Yard Act has never had much interest in offering easy answers. The Leeds quartet built a reputation on sardonic observations about modern life, packaging political unease inside wiry post-punk. But on their third album, You’re Gonna Need A Little Music, they sound surprisingly liberated. It doesn’t abandon those wiry instincts so much as loosen its collar. It’s a lively, melodic record that finds the band trading some of their familiar bite for movement, groove, and the occasional open-road soundtrack.
The album’s biggest victories arrive from two different directions. On “New Beginnings” and the title track, Yard Act’s newfound musical range does the heavy lifting, proving that the band has grown as much instrumentally as it has conceptually. While it’s expected that James Smith, lead vocalist and lyricist, still has plenty to say, it’s surprising how often this album lets the music do the talking first. Producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen (best known for his work with artists such as Beck, Nine Inch Nails, M83, Air, St. Vincent, Wolf Alice, and Deafheaven) gives Yard Act a broader palette than before, allowing pianos to wander through songs that might once have been driven solely by angular guitars, while rhythms flirt with funk, dance-rock, and a sense of forward motion to shoulder as much weight as Smith’s cynical storytelling. It’s the first record the four members wrote together in the same room, allowing their instinctive chemistry to shine through and feel noticeably more spontaneous than its predecessors.
