Yard Act Share Outspoken New Track, ‘Payday’

Yard Act have shared a new track called “Payday”, and you can watch its official video below. The song is the latest preview of the Leeds band’s debut studio album The Overload, which is set for release on January 7 via Zen F.C./Island Records.

“‘Payday” was one of the few tracks on the record we had to rebuild completely in the studio because the first demo was recorded on my computer and the hard drive corrupted,” frontman James Smith explains. “We spent about TWO hours trying to figure out that stupid keyboard part I’d put on it and couldn’t remember how to play. It was boring but worth it.

“It’s about gentrification, class fetish and how the human brain is so powerful that with enough time and processing power combined it will be able to justify, defend and/or continue to commit the actions of any human being it controls.”

As for the single’s James Slater-directed video, Smith added: “We wanted to do something less location and narrative-based for this video, so an infinity white studio served as the perfect purgatory for an anti-capitalist anthem funded by a major record label.

“It was great to get Kayleigh from ‘The Overload’ car boot shoot back with her friends, and they choreographed a brilliant dance routine for it themselves, which really brings the video to life. It’s also nice to finally be able to explain all the lettuces that kept cropping up in the previous videos.”

Pre-order The Overload, out on January 7.

Yard Act are due to embark on a UK and European tour in 2022 – you can check out the full schedule below.

FEBRUARY 2022:
02 – L’Aéronef, Lille
03 – Trix, Borgorhaut
04 – Paradiso Kleine Zaal, Amsterdam
05 – Molotow, Hamburg
06 – Stengade, Copenhagen
07 – Plan B, Malmö
09 – Badehaus, Berlin
10 – Blue Shell, Cologne
11 – Rotondes, Luxembourg
12 – La Boule Noire, Paris
17 – Village Underground, London – SOLD OUT
18 – Patterns, Brighton
19 – The Joiners, Southampton – SOLD OUT
21 – Exchange, Bristol– SOLD OUT
22 – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
23 – Bodega Social, Nottingham – SOLD OUT
24 – The White Hotel, Salford – SOLD OUT
25 – The Trades Club, Hebden Bridge – SOLD OUT
26 – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds – SOLD OUT

MARCH 2022:
01 – The Cluny, Newcastle
02 – The Caves, Edinburgh
03 – Mono, Glasgow

APRIL 2022:
05 – Earth, London

MAY 2022:
11 – Trinity, Bristol
18 – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
19 – Zanzibar, Liverpool
20 – Irish Centre, Leeds
21 – Band on the Wall, Manchester
22 – The Foundry, Sheffield
27 – Arts Centre, Norwich