Consumer Guide Album

Yard Act: The Overload [Island, 2022]
They namecheck Sham 69 on their debut, a credible analogy but too tuneless even by their less than lilting standards. So instead recall circa-2005 (and still active!) Art Brut--lyrics declaimed more than sung over even barer-boned, lower-affect, four-four rock songs in which a local star gets rich enough in a village-turned-town where his football skills have never been surpassed, lettuce is cultivated in ghetto potholes, the one-eyed man was king till he lost his mind, and history is so obdurate that the club owner still won't let bands play originals. A-