A Glossary of Broken Humans & Beating Hearts is the refreshingly honest sophomore EP from Bristol-based Transatlantic duo Yard Arms, due for release November 1st. I caight up with them to find out more.
Can you give a brief introduction? Who the heck are Yard Arms and why should we care?
We are a transatlantic melancholic alternative pop duo hailing from Bristol, UK. We write anthems for the lost, disillusioned, the broken-hearted and the romantics. Why should you care? We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, we’re here to make music that we’d like to hear and if that harnesses interest from others then we are truly humbled.
There’s only two of you – how does this musical dynamic work?
The two of us have been writing and performing together for 13 years now, there is a musical synergy between us that we never take for granted. We’re very understanding within our roles in the writing and rehearsal rooms and it’s a recipe that is always developing and improving.
What impact has being in Bristol had on the band?
We’ve housed and honed our creative endeavours out of Bristol for such a long time now, it’s undeniably an important part of our musical heritage. The long autumnal and winter months of darkness and rain definitely are always fruitful times of year for our creativity. We’ve had the pleasure of working with so many incredible artists and individuals in and around this city, it’s important to recognise our sound will always be some part inspired by its magnificent people and surroundings.
How is this outfit different to your previous musical endeavours?
Yard Arms is the amalgamation of our past two projects for sure, ultimately the sound we are producing currently is what we’ve been seeking for many years. Throughout our teens, the music we were creating was much more heavily influenced by American midwest Emo, Post Rock and the UK math rock scene (think Tubelord, TTNG, Blakfish etc.) Combining all that with our continual appreciation for pop music and 80s alt acts (Tears For Fears, The Cure), helps to understand the family tree of inspiration that is the Yard Arms sound.
Your new album A Glossary of Broken Humans & Beating Hearts instead focuses more outwardly and is a commentary on the human condition, mental health and trauma. Sounds heavy. Why did you choose to focus on this?
Honestly, it wasn’t a conscious focus going into writing this record. Naturally, this group of songs came together to be the next release and it became abundantly clear that they all shared many common themes. It’s ultimately something we couldn’t ignore in our songwriting, whether it be what ourselves in the band have suffered or others close to us, it felt important to voice some kind of stance on these topics. It’s an exploration of these themes, it isn’t necessarily as heavy as it first may seem, there’s an offering of help and optimism throughout, if you seek it you can find it.
What’s next?
We’re finishing up writing EP3 currently, we should hopefully be back in the studio to record that in the new year followed by a spring and summer full of exciting shows and festivals – keep your eyes peeled folks.