No cliched talk of difficult third albums here or half-hearted reviews from other sources. Let's get straight to the point: You're Gonna Need A Little Music takes Yard Act into new musical territories without completely sacrificing what I love about them.
That word 'completely' is doing a bit of work in there to ensure I'm being honest and sufficiently nuanced in my appraisal of his new work. The highlight for me remains the already previewed Redeemer: I love the new darkness the band finds here, while finding some appreciation for the many other textures that accompany it across the album. Talky Talky People, which follows, is downright playful in places while album opener Empty Pledges seems to use the idea of artistic sincerity too archly to be taken entirely seriously, something which the introduction of traffic noises and heavy breathing facilitates.
If Yard Act seem to be asking us not to take them too seriously here, that doesn't mean they're telling us the world is just a playground and nothing more: the sparse bass on Tall Tales and sub-anthemic undertones supplement that darker edge of Redeemer. I come away from the album pondering its sometimes confusing changes of direction but, it seems to me, it's a collection set on making us think rather than providing all the answers. Perhaps a good indicator of where Jamie Smith's head is at too.
You can hear standout track Redeemer in my Dandelion Radio show, now available on-demand here.
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