Watch Yard Act make punchy US TV debut with ‘The Overload’ on ‘Jimmy Fallon’
'The Overload' is the lead single from their 2022 debut album of the same name
Yard Act made their US television debut last night (March 24), performing ‘The Overload’ on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’.
‘The Overload’ is the lead single off Yard Act’s debut album of the same name, which was released in January and peaked at Number Two in the UK albums chart.
The Leeds-based band delivered a punchy performance of the song – watch below.
Rolling Stone UK wrote in a five-star review of ‘The Overload’: “Yard Act’s debut album drills down microscopically into modern life to excavate the bigger picture while accepting that blinkers remain attached,” adding that it’s a “stellar debut effort” that successfully skewers modern-day Britain.
Elsewhere, the post-punkers are set to play Brighton’s The Great Escape festival 2022 (May 11-14) along with other recent additions Porches, Rebecca Black, Sinead O’Brien and Baby Queen.
Rolling Stone UK spoke to the band recently about their debut record and growing success. Frontman James Smith said: “We’re all just all these weird fucking creatures bumbling about on this rock, not really knowing what we’re doing.”
The band’s rise began during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, formed a year prior when Smith moved into a flat with bassist Ryan Needham. “It was weird watching that unfold,” Smith said of people judging their material purely off online uploads. “People were saying nice things about us on the internet, so that was nice. It was addictive, but it’s not really real.”
As noted in the interview, what is real is the band’s ability to attract friends in high places. Cillian Murphy has constantly championed them on his BBC 6 Music show, while Elton John previously said of them: “I love it and I wonder how they do it.”
“I’m just really glad it was someone whose music we all genuinely love,” Smith said of John’s praise. “It could have been someone we weren’t actively fans of, which would have been awkward. But he’s just an incredible songwriter and I have a huge amount of respect for the time he spends listening to new music and chasing new talent.”