CLUNK Recommends | Yard Act – Redeemer

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Yard Act’s latest track ‘Redeemer’ is a swampy and tension-ridden entry, with the band reaping the rewards from recording as a unit, ahead of their new album coming July 17th.

‘Redeemer’ is a reminder that I have been ignorant when it comes to Yard Act. I love ‘The Overload’, especially its title track. There’s a post-punk bounce to the album that’s infectious and every time I’ve seen the band, I’ve ended up being embraced by someone wearing a t-shirt with ‘The Overload’’s cover on it. I think that’s why I keep going back to that album. Sorry ‘Where’s My Utopia’ but, like I say, I have been ignorant.

‘Redeemer’ is something I didn’t know I needed from Yard Act. It’s spooky and driven by a start-stop bassy chug throughout, similar to Queens of the Stone Age’s ‘Don’t Look Just Keep Your Eyes Peeled’, but swampier. James Smith’s vocals are equally Homme-esque, as the beat pauses for him to deliver, ‘You envy the freak. I can see it in your eyes. No one is happy with this arrangement.’

Smith is like a dial slowly being cranked up. He builds tension with his voice delivering some lines fiercely. ‘And I smash my head in private against the wall. Denial thrives in hostile climates’ Each line raises the stakes nicely, particularly up to the second chorus. The guitar flits between chunky and downbeat, to niggly with alt-rock riffs and both playing styles play into the overall feeling of descension.

There’s a dynamism to ‘Redeemer’ in the way that it ebbs and flows, raising and deflating tension in the chorus. This was Yard Act’s first time recording as unit, despite the release of their previous two albums, where they were able to settle into months of uninterrupted recording time and it is exciting to think about what more is to come on ‘You’re Gonna Need A Little Music.’

Ignorance, it turns out, is not bliss.

Listen to ‘Redeemer‘ here:

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Catch Yard Act at the following:

 3^rd June – Primavera Sound, Barcelona
 11^th June – Rock For People, Český Brod, Czechia
 13^th June – Primavera Sound Porto, Porto
 14^th June – Best Kept Secret, Hilvarenbeek
 2^nd July – Rock Werchter, Werchter
 5^th August – Belly Up, Solana Beach
 6^th August – Teragram Ballroom, Los Angeles
 7^th August – Outside Lands, San Francisco
 9^th August – Revolution Hall, Portland
 10^th August – Neptune Theatre, Seattle
 11^th August – The Pearl, Vancouver
 13^th August – Warsaw, Brooklyn
 14^th August – Black Cat, Washington
 15^th August – Underground Arts, Philadelphia
 16^th August – The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA
 1^st October – La Cigale, Paris
 2^nd October – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
 3^rd October – Tivoliredenburg Ronda, Utrecht
 5^th October – Gloria, Cologne
 7^th October – Uebel & Gefährlich
 8^th October – Rockefeller, Oslo
 9^th October – Kagelbanan, Stockholm
 10^th October – Vega Main Hall, Copenhagen
 12^th October – Niebo, Warsaw
 13^th October – MeetFactory, Prague
 14^th October – Festival Kreuzberg, Berlin
 16^th October – Les Docks, Zurich
 17^th October – Magazzini Generali, Milan
 19^th October – La Cabane, Toulouse
 20^th October – Apolo, Barcelona
 21^st October – Teatro Eslava, Madrid
 23^rd October – Capitolio, Lisbon  
 6^th November – O2 Academy, Leeds
 7^th November – O2 Academy, Leeds *New Date*
 10^th November – NX, Newcastle *New Date*
 11^th November – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow *New Date*
 12^th November – Octagon Centre, Sheffield *New Date*
 13^th November – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
 15^th November – Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton *New Date*
 16^th November – O2 Academy, Leicester *New Date*
 17^th November – Rock City, Nottingham *New Date*
 18^th November – Junction 1, Cambridge *New Date*
 20^th November – O2 Academy, Oxford *New Date*
 21^st November – Bristol Beacon, Bristol *New Date*
 23^rd November – Plymouth Arena, Plymouth *New Date*
 24^th November – O2 Guildhall, Southampton *New Date*
 26^th November – O2 Academy Brixton, London

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