News Wu Lyf: Hipster Lads On Tour

The way that people have been talking about them, you’d have thought that Manchester’s WU LYF were the answer to any kind of woe that the music industry has ever had. Bursting onto the scene with a mixture of mystery and inventiveness, it wasn’t just that their songs were great (which they still are) but that they were doing it all ‘on their own terms’. It only took the slightest bit of digging to see that they had a PR company behind them, which undoubtedly aided things, but let’s never let the truth get in the way of one of the great yarns of the decade so far.

Problem is that every promising start has to either blossom into something or fizzle out. And so they stopped the monthly performances at local coffee shop An Outlet (conveniently owned by aforementioned PR company), started rehearsing in a rundown church rented especially for them, played their first show in London and, in amongst spreading their own myths of £50 demo tapes sold to A&R men, managed to craft their debut album.

‘LYF’ looks to be the first single premiered from the LP, with Zane Lowe giving the first spin last night. It’s everything that we’ve come to expect from the group sonically - deeply atmospheric, brooding and orchestral, polished off with singer Ellery’s grizzly choral vocals. It’s a winner whichever you spin it – the work of some deeply talented individuals, whether they’re from within the band or devised by their marketing department’s hands. It’s the video, however, where things go a bit astray.

It was first noted by Jaimie Hodgson in his NME review of the band’s London show, but given that they’re supposed to be Britain’s most exciting and important new band, WU LYF don’t half have the capacity to make you cringe. Any minor deviance at a live show can be forgotten in an instant – the sight of seeing someone in Y-fronts riding on another person’s shoulders is likely to be permanently ingrained on the consciousness. If you’ve not heard the song before, play the video through once with the sound off and try not to wince:



It’s difficult to imagine that this is a band once praised for their restraint and ability to play the game seemingly devoid of any emotion. It’s almost like a satire: faux meaningful projections being jumped about by a couple of fully grown men with their tops off pretending that they’re at a school disco. Even Ellery, who has always seemed like he’s the definition of cool is there, fist pumping, his arm around one of his bros, urging you to see how authentic they are. It’s essentially miniature documentary on hipster lads on tour.

WU LYF are playing a tunnel in Manchester for the city’s international festival. There are 2,000 tickets - 200 more than Bjork is doing for each night of her six date residency for the same event - each priced at £13.50. Despite the fact they’re rarely filled anything bigger than a thimble to date, there’s every chance that they’ll sell it out, but if they do it’ll be because of their songs and not because of this video. We can only hope that they keep their clothes on.