Last night, when the Leeds post-punk band Yard Act played on American TV for the first time, James Smith took a moment mid-song to lean over and yell something directly into the camera: “America, are you listening? I’m actually very nice!” Yard Act were playing “The Overload,” the title track from their just-released debut album. On that song, Smith plays the role of a crusty older gentleman who’s disgusted with the younger generation. But in slightly tweaking the lyrics last night, Smith sent a bit of a message across the airwaves.

Yard Act just released that album The Overload earlier this year after cranking out a couple of buzzy singles. The Overload is already a huge hit in the UK, and now Yard Act have their sights set on America. They’ve got a whole lot of festival shows coming up, and they did musical-guest duties on last night’s Tonight Show. They made an impression.

A lot of bands are making similar sorts scratchy, wordy post-punk these days, but Yard Act still stand out, and they showed why last night. The band’s style is clean and forceful, and it acts as a sort of springboard for Smith, a splenetic ranter who’s equal parts Alex Turner and Craig Finn. Big hooks, too. They sounded good last night, and you can watch the performance below.

The Overload is out now on Island Records/Zen F.C.