Yard Act

Meanwood to Island

James Smith and Ryan Needham, who had played in Post War Glamour Girls and Menace Beach, began the band in September 2019 after moving into a shared house in Meanwood, Leeds. Smith called Needham's four months in his spare room a turbocharged bonding session. It began as a cassette-only project around a Tascam 246 recorder, which Smith bought partly because Guided by Voices used one, and drum machines pulled the sound toward disco. Sammy Robinson and George Townend played guitar and drums on the early singles until Sam Shipstone and Jay Russell took over in 2020. Influences Wikipedia lists include Sleaford Mods, Gorillaz, John Cooper Clarke, the Fall and Gang of Four.

"The Trapper's Pelts" was recorded just before the March 2020 lockdowns, and the double single of "Fixer Upper" and "The Trapper's Pelts" came out on their own label, Zen F.C., in July 2020. Four independent singles were compiled as the Dark Days EP on January 19, 2021. The debut album The Overload (January 21, 2022, Island, produced by Ali Chant) reached number 2 in the UK and was shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize; Metacritic scored it 85. The band reached the BBC's Sound of 2022 shortlist and played their biggest headline show to date at Village Underground in London on February 22, 2022.

Where's My Utopia? (March 1, 2024, produced by Yard Act and Remi Kabaka Jr.) reached number 4 and You're Gonna Need a Little Music (July 17, 2026, produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen) number 15. A re-recorded "100% Endurance (Elton John Version)" came out on July 1, 2022. Cillian Murphy championed them on 6 Music. Setlist.fm lists 423 setlists since 2020, with 2022 the busiest year (138), and a November 2026 UK tour including two nights at the O2 Academy Leeds.