Yard Act – “Petroleum”
Last month, UK’s Yard Act announced their sophomore album Where’s My Utopia? and shared “Dream Job.” Today, they’re releasing “Petroleum” with a music video directed by Rose Matafeo.
“I lost it with the crowd in Bognor Regis and told them I was bored and I didn’t want to be there,” frontman James Smith said in a statement about the song. “Me and Ryan [Needham] had a row after, and Ryan rightly dressed me down for the way I acted. It got me pondering the idea that, now this is a job, what are the requirements of it? People think they want honesty but they don’t, they want me to portray the version of honesty that they’ve paid to see and that’s part of the illusion.”
About the video, he continued:
“Petroleum” finds The Visitor as she stumbles into the hideout of a fearsome Biker gang called The Utopians. She’s still on the run from the H.G.E agents. It was a lot of fun shooting this video, and a joy to watch our friend Rose Matafeo bring the leader of The Utopians to life. Though the story isn’t being told in a linear format, I hope that the journey of The Visitor through the last three videos is starting to come together and reveal that we’re working on something bigger here. More to come!
Matafeo added:
I screen most of my phone calls, but when the phone flashes up “JAMES YARD ACT” you’re gonna pick that up straight away. To feature in a Yard Act video has been on my bucket list ever since I added it to my bucket list after they asked me so I could have the satisfaction of crossing it off my bucket list. The overall vision for this album is so creatively ambitious and fun and cool and I’m so stoked to even be a little part of it. Sorry for my bad accent. Not sorry for the line dancing.
Watch it below.
Where’s My Utopia? is out 3/1 on Republic Records.