{"id":2047517,"date":"2026-07-16T08:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T05:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2047517"},"modified":"2026-07-16T08:00:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T05:00:25","slug":"yard-act-youre-gonna-need-a-little-music-review-leeds-lads-hone-in-on-their-truest-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2047517","title":{"rendered":"Yard Act \u2013 \u2018You\u2019re Gonna Need A Little Music\u2019 review: Leeds lads hone in on their truest form"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Yard-Act-Credit-James-Winstanley.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"template-id-3332206\" class=\"post-3332206 tdb_templates type-tdb_templates status-publish post\">\n<div id=\"tdi_65\" class=\"tdc-zone\">\n<div class=\"tdc_zone tdi_66  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div id=\"tdi_67\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_1400 td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_68  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_70  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_71 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_71\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"696\" height=\"442\" class=\"entry-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Yard-Act-Credit-James-Winstanley-696x442.jpg\" alt=\"Yard Act You&apos;re Gonna Need A Little Music Review Artwork\" title=\"Yard Act Credit James Winstanley\"><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\">Yard Act. Credit: James Winstanley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_72\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_73  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_75  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_breadcrumbs tdi_76 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-breadcrumbs \" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_76\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span>Reviews<\/span><span>Album Reviews<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_title tdi_77 tdb-single-title td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_77\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Yard Act \u2013 \u2018You\u2019re Gonna Need A Little Music\u2019 review: Leeds lads hone in on their truest form<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_78 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_78\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>After building their own studio space to push back against making \u201claptop records\u201d, the post-punk group\u2019s unruly third LP is a thrilling distillation of what their previous two did best<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_review_overall tdi_79 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_79\">\n<table class=\"td-review td-fix-index\">\n<tr class=\"td-review-footer rate_stars\">\n<td class=\"td-review-score\">\n<div class=\"td-review-overall\">\n<div class=\"td-review-final-score\">4.5<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_80 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_80\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> Rishi Shah<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_81 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_81\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2026-07-16T09:00:25+01:00\">16th July 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_82\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_83  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_85  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Along with the lucky hundreds in attendance at north London\u2019s Unit 58 and the car park of Leeds\u2019 Brudenell Social Club, <i>NME<\/i> first heard Yard Act\u2019s new album in May. At these free last-minute gigs, the Leeds quartet surprised fans by playing \u2018You\u2019re Gonna Need A Little Music\u2019 from top to bottom \u2013 instantly after it was announced. A power move that perhaps indicates the confidence they harness, now three albums in, but one that also mirrors the approach that birthed it: four live musicians under one roof at their most instinctive.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: The breakneck rise of digital hardcore duo Femtanyl<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Following the bitty writing process that characterised their Mercury Prize-nominated debut album \u2018The Overload\u2019 (2022) and its playful successor \u2018Where\u2019s My Utopia?\u2019 (2024), Yard Act assembled their own studio space in Leeds. Months of free-flowing creativity and demoing ensued before they invited producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck, Wolf Alice) into the fold, eventually decamping to his LA studio to finish the record. Besides an autumn arena tour with The Hives, 2025 largely provided \u201cthe first time since we began touring that we could stop and think straight\u201d, frontman James Smith told <em>DIY<\/em> in a recent interview.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>If their Gorillaz-esque second album felt like a reaction to the quick-witted post-punk that dominated \u2018The Overload\u2019, then \u2018You\u2019re Gonna Need A Little Music\u2019 is Yard Act\u2019s two-for-one deal, finding a way to meld the wonky piano in \u2018Tall Tales\u2019 with bulky garage-rock. The title track\u2019s irresistibly euphoric chorus completely throws you off guard after Smith \u2013 narrating with the drab indifference of Confidence Man\u2019s Sugar Bones \u2013 spices up his West Coast novel with life\u2019s priceless ingredient: \u201cAll you gotta do is press play\u201d.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Yard Act - New Beginnings\" width=\"696\" height=\"522\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7AwpsbQRgVI?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>The most rampant callback to their roots, \u2018Thrill Of The Chase\u2019 accelerates towards full-blown rap, while \u2018New Beginnings\u2019 carries the coming-of-age feeling that declares the house of LP3 \u2013 their studio, if you take \u201cspend your winnings on new beginnings\u201d literally \u2013 open for business. Subconsciously fuelled by Smith\u2019s ambitious alter-ego Janey in \u2018Fiction\u2019 (<em>\u201cYou get one shot \/ So roll the dice \/ Just put your foot down Jane\u201d<\/em>) or otherwise, the sonic decisions on \u2018You\u2019re Gonna Need A Little Music\u2019 feel do-or-die: there\u2019s a real precision about their genre-bending this time around.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s ironic, because the album\u2019s subject matter is far more vague, reckoning with truth, fiction and the space between. <em>\u201cSit down, shut up and listen\u201d<\/em>, Smith spits, but by the record\u2019s penultimate track, he\u2019s telling off <em>\u201ctalky talky people\u201d<\/em> because \u201c<em>they never listen\u201d<\/em>. Yard Act have never been short of stuff to say, but after all is said and done, perhaps the titular takeaway is to open up our own ears. It\u2019s a mantra that our hot-headed, opinionated world could do with acting on, whether that\u2019s taking some occasional advice from Janey \u2013 or simply just soaking in <em>\u201ca little music\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Details<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3782516 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Yard-Act-Youre-Gonna-Need-A-Little-Music-Review-Artwork.jpg\" alt=\"Yard Act You&apos;re Gonna Need A Little Music Review\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Record label:<\/strong> Island Records<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release date:<\/strong> July 17, 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_tags tdi_87 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_87\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<ul class=\"tdb-tags\">\n<li><span>Related Topics<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Indie<\/li>\n<li>Post-Punk<\/li>\n<li>Yard Act<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_88\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_89  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_91  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"vc_row_inner tdi_93  vc_row vc_inner wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column_inner tdi_95  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-inner-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_97 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>More Stories<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap td_flex_block_1 tdi_98 td-pb-border-top td_module_flex_1--card td_module_flex_1--card--highlight td_block_template_2 tdc-no-posts td_flex_block\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_98\">\n<div id=\"tdi_98\" class=\"td_block_inner td-mc1-wrap\">\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">The Cure\u2019s Robert Smith is not looking forward to Chris Martin\u2019s World Cup halftime show<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Watch Phoebe Bridgers return to \u2018The Tonight Show\u2019 with tender acoustic version of \u2018Lost Boys\u2019<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music Interviews<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">TTSSFU tells us about shaking self-doubt and new music: \u201cI\u2019m going back to dream-pop\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Listen to Keo\u2019s soaring new single \u2018Pistol\u2019<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Watch Matty Healy sing with The 1975 tribute band on his Malibu stag do<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Suede announce \u2018Coming Up\u2019 30th anniversary reissue along with 12 inch singles collection<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_99\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_100  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_102  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_104 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>You May Also Like<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/article>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Along with the lucky hundreds in attendance at north London\u2019s Unit 58 and the car park of Leeds\u2019 Brudenell Social Club, <i>NME<\/i> first heard Yard Act\u2019s new album in May. At these free last-minute gigs, the Leeds quartet surprised fans by playing \u2018You\u2019re Gonna Need A Little Music\u2019 from top to bottom \u2013 instantly after it was announced. A power move that perhaps indicates the confidence they harness, now three albums in, but one that also mirrors the approach that birthed it: four live musicians under one roof at their most instinctive.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: The breakneck rise of digital hardcore duo Femtanyl<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Following the bitty writing process that characterised their Mercury Prize-nominated debut album \u2018The Overload\u2019 (2022) and its playful successor \u2018Where\u2019s My Utopia?\u2019 (2024), Yard Act assembled their own studio space in Leeds. Months of free-flowing creativity and demoing ensued before they invited producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck, Wolf Alice) into the fold, eventually decamping to his LA studio to finish the record. Besides an autumn arena tour with The Hives, 2025 largely provided \u201cthe first time since we began touring that we could stop and think straight\u201d, frontman James Smith told <em>DIY<\/em> in a recent interview.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>If their Gorillaz-esque second album felt like a reaction to the quick-witted post-punk that dominated \u2018The Overload\u2019, then \u2018You\u2019re Gonna Need A Little Music\u2019 is Yard Act\u2019s two-for-one deal, finding a way to meld the wonky piano in \u2018Tall Tales\u2019 with bulky garage-rock. The title track\u2019s irresistibly euphoric chorus completely throws you off guard after Smith \u2013 narrating with the drab indifference of Confidence Man\u2019s Sugar Bones \u2013 spices up his West Coast novel with life\u2019s priceless ingredient: \u201cAll you gotta do is press play\u201d.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Yard Act - New Beginnings\" width=\"696\" height=\"522\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7AwpsbQRgVI?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>The most rampant callback to their roots, \u2018Thrill Of The Chase\u2019 accelerates towards full-blown rap, while \u2018New Beginnings\u2019 carries the coming-of-age feeling that declares the house of LP3 \u2013 their studio, if you take \u201cspend your winnings on new beginnings\u201d literally \u2013 open for business. Subconsciously fuelled by Smith\u2019s ambitious alter-ego Janey in \u2018Fiction\u2019 (<em>\u201cYou get one shot \/ So roll the dice \/ Just put your foot down Jane\u201d<\/em>) or otherwise, the sonic decisions on \u2018You\u2019re Gonna Need A Little Music\u2019 feel do-or-die: there\u2019s a real precision about their genre-bending this time around.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s ironic, because the album\u2019s subject matter is far more vague, reckoning with truth, fiction and the space between. <em>\u201cSit down, shut up and listen\u201d<\/em>, Smith spits, but by the record\u2019s penultimate track, he\u2019s telling off <em>\u201ctalky talky people\u201d<\/em> because \u201c<em>they never listen\u201d<\/em>. Yard Act have never been short of stuff to say, but after all is said and done, perhaps the titular takeaway is to open up our own ears. It\u2019s a mantra that our hot-headed, opinionated world could do with acting on, whether that\u2019s taking some occasional advice from Janey \u2013 or simply just soaking in <em>\u201ca little music\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Details<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3782516 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Yard-Act-Youre-Gonna-Need-A-Little-Music-Review-Artwork.jpg\" alt=\"Yard Act You&apos;re Gonna Need A Little Music Review\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Record label:<\/strong> Island Records<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release date:<\/strong> July 17, 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/reviews\/album\/yard-act-youre-gonna-need-a-little-music-review-3956637&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Yard-Act-Credit-James-Winstanley.jpg&#8221;] Yard Act. Credit: James Winstanley ReviewsAlbum Reviews Yard Act \u2013 \u2018You\u2019re Gonna Need A Little Music\u2019 review: Leeds lads hone in on their truest form After building their own studio space to push back against making \u201claptop records\u201d, the post-punk group\u2019s unruly third LP is a thrilling distillation of what their previous [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,78],"class_list":["post-2047517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nme-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2047517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2047517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2047517\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2047517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2047517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2047517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}