Yard Act Enlist Katy J Pearson For New Single When The Laughter Stops
Friday, 09 February 2024
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Phoebe Fox
Yard Act have teamed up with Katy J Pearson for a new song, When The Laughter Stops.
The poppy, post-punk track serves as the final preview of the Leeds band's sophomore album, 'Where’s My Utopia?', due out on March 1 via Island Records.
It'll be joined on the record by the previously unveiled singles Dream Job, Petroleum and We Make Hits, all of which were accompanied by videos directed by long-time collaborator James Slater. Frontman James Smith said:
"The sentiment of the lyrics gets to the heart of 'Where’s My Utopia?' almost immediately, and finds the cynicism first spawned from the same circumstance I found myself in during Dream Job now giving way to a more genuine sliver of misery. Fortunately - spoiler alert - I've managed to find a way out of this pit, for the time being."
He continued: "Whilst the lyrics came quick, musically it went through the wringer. As is often the case when Ryan presents a bass line, harmonically it’s pretty ambiguous and we all hear things differently. I was hearing the song in a pretty bluesy, minor key, whilst Sam [guitarist] heard a very saccharine and sweet major key tune. The song pedalled back and forth, we talked about ‘Lovefool’ by The Cardigans quite a lot if I remember correctly. During a recording session in Kettering with Russ Russell at Parlour Studios in December 2022, I was fucking about on a Roland Juno with the arpeggiator whirring away over the end. Ryan flipped the rate so it went half time and all of a sudden the eeriness of the track made sense; it sounded like some John Carpenter doomsday clock countdown or something. Sam reworked the guitars to sound like High Voltage by Electric Six and we stripped away the funkier percussion and made the rhythm more aggressive, like Seven Nation Army. Katy came to meet us at Metropolis in London to dub the chorus vocals and it gave the whole track a huge lift I'll never have the voice for. She's fantastic. I asked David Thewlis to recite Macbeth over the end for obvious reasons. The results speak for themselves!"
Head below for the song's accompanying video, which stars David Thewlis and continues the narrative presented in the clip for Petroleum. Slater said of the video: "This video continues the journey of The Visitor and follows on from Petroleum, in which we saw her get dragged off by a couple of hitmen. When The Laughter Stops reveals her fate… a prison full of old circus performers. Security is admittedly a little loose so all may not be lost. The videos we’ve made have all been part of a wider Yard Act cinematic universe and we’re in the process of turning the whole thing into a movie. Watch this space."
Yard Act will celebrate the follow-up to 2022's 'The Overload' with a launch party at Pryzm in Kingston, London on February 29 before embarking on a previously scheduled UK and Ireland tour in the spring.
They'll also head across Europe in April, before a run of US dates in late May and early June. They'll return to the UK in the summer for their biggest hometown show to date at Leeds' Millennium Square on August 3, alongside slots at Truck Festival, Tramlines and Victorious. Tickets for all dates are on sale.
Yard Act Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows
Thu February 29 2024 - KINGSTON UPON THAMES PRYZM Kingston
Wed March 13 2024 - NORWICH Norwich Uea
Thu March 14 2024 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City Nottingham
Fri March 15 2024 - GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
Sat March 16 2024 - MANCHESTER O2 Apollo
Sun March 17 2024 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE University of Northumbria
Tue March 19 2024 - BELFAST Mandela Hall
Wed March 20 2024 - DUBLIN Vicar Street
Fri March 22 2024 - LIVERPOOL Invisible Wind Factory
Sat March 23 2024 - BRISTOL O2 Academy Bristol
Sun March 24 2024 - CARDIFF Cardiff University Students Union
Mon March 25 2024 - BRIGHTON Brighton Dome
Wed March 27 2024 - LONDON Eventim Apollo
Thu April 04 2024 - NANTES Stereolux (France)
Fri April 05 2024 - PARIS CABARET SAUVAGE (France)
Sat April 06 2024 - BORDEAUX ROCK SCHOOL BARBEY (France)
Mon April 08 2024 - LISBON LAV (Portugal)
Tue April 09 2024 - MADRID Mon (Spain)
Thu April 11 2024 - BARCELONA La 2 (Spain)
Fri April 12 2024 - LYON LE TRANSBORDEUR (France)
Sat April 13 2024 - BOLOGNA Locomotiv Club (Italy)
Sun April 14 2024 - MILAN Santeria Toscana 31 (Italy)
Tue April 16 2024 - ZURICH Mascotte (Switzerland)
Wed April 17 2024 - MUNICH Muffathalle (Germany)
Thu April 18 2024 - BERLIN Festsaal Kreuzberg (Germany)
Sat April 20 2024 - STOCKHOLM Slaktkyrkan (Sweden)
Wed April 24 2024 - HAMBURG Uebel and Gefährlich (Germany)
Thu April 25 2024 - AMSTERDAM Paradiso (Netherlands)
Fri April 26 2024 - NIJMEGEN Doornrosie (Netherlands)
Sat April 27 2024 - COLOGNE Kantine (Germany)
Sun April 28 2024 - BRUSSELS Les Nuits Botanique (Belgium)
Thu May 30 2024 - SOLANA BEACH California - Belly Up Tavern (USA)
Fri May 31 2024 - LOS ANGELES California - Regent Theater Los Angeles (USA)
Mon June 03 2024 - SANTA CRUZ California - Atrium at The Catalyst (USA)
Tue June 04 2024 - SAN FRANCISCO California - THE INDEPENDENT (USA)
Thu June 06 2024 - PORTLAND Oregon - Mississippi Studios (USA)
Sat June 08 2024 - SEATTLE Washington - Crocodile Seattle (USA)
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