The Overload
by Yard Act
  • Record Label: Island
  • Release Date: Jan 21, 2022
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 27 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 27
  3. Negative: 1 out of 27
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  1. buzzlight
    Jan 21, 2022
    9
    This band jams. I'd describe Yard Act as a kind-of British version of Parquet Courts, and that's just fine with me.
  2. MusicGuyMack
    Mar 8, 2022
    10
    Playing like a dementedly delightful mashup of Slint's jagged, muscular guitar lines, The Dead Milkmen's winkingly humorous lyricism, and Cake's droll talk-singing vocal delivery all delivered by a more indie-inflected IDLES cousin, "The Overload" effectively coalesces such wildly disparate musical elements into a singular sonic identity that's all Yard Act's own and will prove pleasing toPlaying like a dementedly delightful mashup of Slint's jagged, muscular guitar lines, The Dead Milkmen's winkingly humorous lyricism, and Cake's droll talk-singing vocal delivery all delivered by a more indie-inflected IDLES cousin, "The Overload" effectively coalesces such wildly disparate musical elements into a singular sonic identity that's all Yard Act's own and will prove pleasing to fans of any number of those bands.… Expand
  3. spacemanrecords
    Jan 22, 2022
    8
    The debut album from Yard Act came out of nowhere and it was a welcome surprise... Hard hitting and poignant ideas are a constant theme throughout the record, being delivered in an almost spoken word fashion...

    The subject matter is wide spanning from unanimously relatable things such as capitalism guilt, or "the constant burden of making sense", to more UK related social/economic    The debut album from Yard Act came out of nowhere and it was a welcome surprise... Hard hitting and poignant ideas are a constant theme throughout the record, being delivered in an almost spoken word fashion...

    The subject matter is wide spanning from unanimously relatable things such as capitalism guilt, or "the constant burden of making sense", to more UK related social/economic issues. This serves as an interesting view in, being an American...

    Pretty much no skips, this band rocks!

    I'm giving it a strong 7 to light 8    … Expand
  4. Menios
    Jan 24, 2022
    5
    An album that occasionally impresses me but for the most part makes me appreciate Talking Heads a whole lot more.
  5. njuc
    Mar 12, 2022
    0
    The album has everything what he needs to have!
    I am an indie artist and I have a classical music education and you have to trust me!
  6. Ricko
    Mar 11, 2022
    8
    At times, its great but most of the time it's a bit better than ok. Although not from the same genre, imagine a post punk version of Franz Ferdinand. A bit silly, a bit sarcastic decent tunes but arguably lacking in soul or gravity. The lyrics can be quite clever and cutting as well as accurate but the lack of variety in the delivery takes from them to an extent. Dry Cleaning did thisAt times, its great but most of the time it's a bit better than ok. Although not from the same genre, imagine a post punk version of Franz Ferdinand. A bit silly, a bit sarcastic decent tunes but arguably lacking in soul or gravity. The lyrics can be quite clever and cutting as well as accurate but the lack of variety in the delivery takes from them to an extent. Dry Cleaning did this record last year but with much more originality and quirk. Worth checking out but the hype is extremely questionable.… Expand
  7. Timtamcanberra
    May 20, 2022
    10
    I'm a post-punk fan, and a fan of the recent talk-sing-sometimes-post-rock post-punk wave. Of them this and Squid's debut last year stand above to me. Fontaines D.C., black midi, Black Country, New Road are all very strong but I keep returning to this one. It's the British wit, Talking Heads grooves, occasional hip hop or disco injection, each song (bar Quarantine the Sticks) just asks toI'm a post-punk fan, and a fan of the recent talk-sing-sometimes-post-rock post-punk wave. Of them this and Squid's debut last year stand above to me. Fontaines D.C., black midi, Black Country, New Road are all very strong but I keep returning to this one. It's the British wit, Talking Heads grooves, occasional hip hop or disco injection, each song (bar Quarantine the Sticks) just asks to be listened to over and over again. The final three really bring it home strong too.… Expand
  8. Benhasbigballs
    Oct 24, 2022
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. "The Overload" might be a contender for my favourite album of the year. When this album hits, it really hits, however some songs have a tendency to lean more towards making a statement, and one of my main criticisms of this album is that it often fails to combine its powerful, anti-establishment messages with the incredible writing seen in some of the tracks like the titular "overload". Despite this, the album is far from dull and has some catchy, lyrically intensive songs and shows what potential Yard Act have.… Expand
  9. Fuerstenberg
    Mar 11, 2022
    6
    "The Overload" is a confident debut of the young rock band from Leeds with chaotic, tousled but catchy riffs. Yard Act brings back the British 70s and 80s with their post-punk and art rock, but comes nowhere near the originals.

    Besides the musical minimalism, it lacks a certain sonic sharpness and is often too subdued or simply too boring. Even if the lyrics are really witty and funny,    "The Overload" is a confident debut of the young rock band from Leeds with chaotic, tousled but catchy riffs. Yard Act brings back the British 70s and 80s with their post-punk and art rock, but comes nowhere near the originals.

    Besides the musical minimalism, it lacks a certain sonic sharpness and is often too subdued or simply too boring. Even if the lyrics are really witty and funny, the vocals need to be improved significantly. Overall pretty unspectacular and overrated by the critics.

    My favorites:
    "Pour Another"
    "Payday"
    "The Overload"
    "Land of the Blind"

    ~ Fürstenberg
    March 11, 2022    … Expand
  10. CosmoMoffy
    Mar 30, 2022
    9
    Fantastic. I’ll never give an album 10/10 but this is the closest yet this year to April. Clever lyrics great sound. To start with thought of this as a cross between Blur and Sleaford Mods - but they have there own sound and style. Love it!
  11. AShinyG1ratina
    Jun 21, 2022
    6
    While being fairly sonically unimpressive on a lot of tracks here (they tend to stick to the very basic post-punk-tinged instrumentals throughout the project), I can't deny how happy this album makes me. This band basically has every correct take on how dumb capitalism and corporatism (which are described as the same thing in this album because they are) tend to be as a concept, and isn'tWhile being fairly sonically unimpressive on a lot of tracks here (they tend to stick to the very basic post-punk-tinged instrumentals throughout the project), I can't deny how happy this album makes me. This band basically has every correct take on how dumb capitalism and corporatism (which are described as the same thing in this album because they are) tend to be as a concept, and isn't afraid to express their takes on this in the most hilarious and witty ways possible. The delivery of these lines also fits the mood as the lead vocalist tends to have a very tongue-in-cheek approach to delivering his lines. The most memorable songs I immediately think of when I think back to the lyricality of this project include "The Overload," "Dead Horse," "Payday," "Rich," "Land Of The Blind," and more. I'm going to keep restating it to the point of redundancy but lyrically, this is possibly the best 2022 release as of yet.
    By the way, it's not like I don't enjoy any of these instrumentals. "Land Of The Blind," "Dead Horse," and "Witness" all have very memorable post-punk instrumentals that give the same playful feeling that the vocals do. It's really only on tracks like "Quarantine The Sticks" and "The Incident" that I think the instrumentals sort of ruin what interest I might've had in the song solely based on how skilled of a storyteller the lead vocalist is.
    Anyways, this will probably be underrated by people who can't get past some of the instrumentals on here, but for me the lyrics are so instantly memorable that I can all but forget that glaring weakness here. The album length definitely benefits it as well, as it would likely get redundant or repetitive after 4-5 more tracks of the same theme. Pretty excited for whatever this band comes out with next, hopefully with a more diverse sound while keeping the same lyrical quality that made me adore this record in the first place.
    BEST TRACKS: The Overload, Dead Horse, Rich, Witness (Can I Get A?), Land Of The Blind, Pour Another
    WORST TRACKS: The Incident, Quarantine The Sticks    … Expand
  12. Dommi17
    Jul 29, 2022
    10
    Perfectly political and nonsensical in equal measure. There are no dull moments on the overload, with dense lyricism, and catchy melodies- it's almost danceable. Punk is in safe hands with Yard Act.

Awards & Rankings

36
#36 Best Album of 2022
69
#69 Most Discussed Album of 2022

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
85

Universal acclaim - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. Record Collector
    Feb 3, 2022
    80
    The Overload is quite the debut.
    Read full review
  2. Beats Per Minute
    Jan 25, 2022
    68
    The Overload has enough interesting touchstones, but unfortunately, how Yard Act aim to utilize them within their songwriting MO is still a bit of a jumble. Many of the sounds and textures don’t really add much expressive gusto to Smith’s thespian qualities, and I feel the group can cover a lot of ground here on upcoming releases.
    Read full review
  3. Paste Magazine
    Jan 25, 2022
    81
    A little bit Sleaford Mods, a helping of The Fall and a dash of Pulp, the group craft smart vignettes of modern life with a confident, witty delivery across their debut full-length, The Overload.
    Read full review
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