HOW GUITARIST SAM SHIPSTONE’S SIDEWINDING RIFFS (AND G&L ASAT) KEEP YARD ACT’S DARK, DANCEY POST-PUNK-FUNK DELICIOUSLY OFF-KILTER
STORY BY ANDREW DALY PHOTO BY DAN SULLIVAN
FORMED DURING THE Covid lockdown in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, Yard Act’s initial 2019 lineup featured Sammy Robinson on guitar. But that didn’t last long, and by 2020, Sam Shipstone solidified the recording lineup for Yard Act’s 2022 EP, 100% Endurance (Elton John Version), and their first album, 2022’s The Overload.
Both were well-received but hard to pin down, with Yard Act being labeled everything from post-punk to indie rock to Italo disco-infused randomness. Throw in Shipstone’s textural licks, which err toward subtle minimalism as opposed to overt showboating, and you have a recipe for alt-darling success.
And the twists and turns didn’t end there, with Yard Act’s brand-new full-length, Where’s My Utopia? skewing toward sounds akin to Oingo Boingo and the Talking Heads. But interestingly, Shipstone’s early influences were decidedly dad-rock-leaning. “The big ones early on were Led Zeppelin and Radiohead,” Shipstone says. “Those shaped me early on while I was in Leeds. But once I started playing music properly, in Leeds, there was a great DIY noise rock scene. I played in some space rock bands with blown-out effects and some backend bluesy vibes.”
It’s a good thing Shipstone’s musical background is diverse, as Yard Act is the sort of band that alternates between the need to step back and play subtle rhythms and demanding that Shipstone shove himself to the forefront to reel off some utterly gob-smacking leads.
But it wasn’t easy to get to that point, as Yard Act was initially a mere side effect of idle hands. “Yard Act came about as a lockdown thing,” Shipstone says. “We didn’t play a single live show, so the way we did the early stuff was sending over vocals and robotic drums, and I’d add some guitars. The sounds were quite pokey, but I found it all to be very attractive.”
Given the uncertain nature of those lockdown days, who knows if Shipstone intended for Yard Act to get this far; regardless, he’s staring down Where’s My Utopia?, which is primed to better The Over-load. And thankfully, once on stage, Yard Act not only gelled, but their juices flowed faster. Still, the band’s place in the world remains unknown, so it’s a good thing they’re sitting on a handful of gorgeously off-kilter cuts.
As for what’s next, Shipstone confides: “Fuck know
