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. 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.
  2. 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
  3. 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

Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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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