Better late than never: A review of WU LYF at the Shepherds Bush Empire 26th October 2011

(Picture: http://www.musicphotographers.co.uk/live-music-blog/)

If Ellery Roberts thumps his chest, heart-side and rapper-style, to pre-empt another lyric, my wife is going to slap him.

To do so though, she will have to swim the raging sea of teenage heads and arms that is churning between us and the stage; and then overcome the yellow-shirted line of security that guards against such attacks.

We are watching - at a safe distance - Manchester band WU LYF playing their first traditional London gig as part of their first traditional tour. Up to now, you see, they have been avoiding such places preferring instead to play smaller ‘unlikely’ music venues, and fan-club-only, journalist-less ‘events’.

This was all part of the band’s anti-marketing campaign, which involved releasing as little information as possible about themselves, shunning interviews and communicating largely through their text-heavy, photo-montage and obscure-imagery and film laden, website. These days it includes more arty band shots than it once did. More than the one that the band famously only released to the press in the early days, which showed them and some of their ‘associates’, faces-masked, standing around a fire and waving their hands triumphantly.

This of course could never last. Not the waving of the hands triumphantly, but the mystery. And that is why they are here. And becuase they do actually have a business-savvy manager who apparently worked with Tony Wilson at Factory back in the day. This goes some way to explain how they are here.

Their debut album ‘Go Tell Fire To The Mountain’ was released over the summer to critical acclaim. Clearly, I have not played it loud enough. The songs sound better than ever tonight; I think it’s the acoustics in the old Bush theatre that are inflating Ellery’s church organ keyboard and elevating his vocal to new heights. Whatever it is, it works.

Rather disappointingly though, there is something of a lunchtime school hall performance about the way Roberts presents himself. He is no Morrissey or Morrison. There is no charisma. No charm. Upstanding and sideways on; singing and playing his keyboard, Bryan Ferry-style, I like him more. But out front, throwing his-quasi-rapper gestures, he simply evokes the arrogance of school boy fronting his first band.

It’s a shame because I love his singing style. It is highly original. Tonight, echoing around the old Shepherds Bush Empire (I will not mention the mobile phone company's name that now sponsors the venue) it is more of an incoherent bark-chant than ever. God knows what he is singing? Periodically, you can pick out the odd word like ‘blood’ ‘fire’ or ‘mountain’, but, tonight at least I’m not bothered about the lyrics, it is more about the atmosphere.

Somewhat surprisingly, Roberts’ speaking voice retains a Tom Waits gruffness that is incongruous with the figure of this skinny young man. So much so as to make you wonder whether it is affected. I don’t know, and again because the noise is so enthralling, I don’t let it get to me.

I know WU LYF have made it clear that they do not see themselves as part of Manchester’s legendary musical lineage, but I can’t help hearing the guitar of Johnny Marr and John Squire in the xx/Interpol reverb-laden guitar playing of Evans Kati. Always restrained; never overcome by the more aggressive attack of the bare-chested Thomas David Francis McClung on bass, and Joseph Louis Harland Manning on drums. Never violently strummed.

I wondered how long they could keep up the secret gigs and the lack of engagement with traditional channels of music promotion. They are already touring the states, and it won’t be long before this lot are playing the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury (it will be at least two years as there is no Glasto. in 2012), because this is a summer-festival-friendly sound; a quasi-religious experience that would suit a bunch of hippies who like nothing more than to lay on their backs, stoned out of their trees, and to stare at the night sky.

The only buzz I’m getting is from my iphone vibrating in my pocket, and short of a night sky, I opt instead to admire the ceiling detail in the old Empire theatre. 

The only way is up for WU LYF. You watch.

Toby

Incidentally, if you are interested to read more, here is a link to a guest blog I did on the band's 'anti-marketing' campaign for Musicmetric: 'A Design for WU LYF: The ‘mystery’ marketing of the Manchester 4-piece: http://bit.ly/s1v5TM