Not a lot is known about Wu Lyf other than that they reside in Manchester, that their name is short for World Unite Lucifer Youth Foundation, they have charged desperate for a demo A&R types £50 yet let fans into early gigs for just £1, they couldn’t care less about fame, and that they prefer going down the D.I.Y. route. Rumour has it that this album was recorded in a disused church in Manchester which really adds to the whole Wu Lyf experience.

Album opener, ‘L Y F’, kicks off with an atmospheric organ sound to be joined by the loud beating of the drum and then the bass, then guitar with the band all flowing together to make a beautiful noise before singer Ellery Roberts yelps and shouts which is reminiscent of early Modest Mouse.

The harsh vocals of Ellery Roberts work well against the ambient music and this is shown best in the song ‘Summas Bliss’ which is most definitely one for the summer as its relaxing beat gives you the feel that this song wouldn’t look out of place on Foals’ ‘Total Life Forever’…which can’t be a bad thing.

Longest track on the album at 6 and a half minutes, ‘We Bros’, is another slow atmospheric song that picks up with the drumbeat driving the sound along. As the song reaches its climax you find it hard not to sing along with Roberts’ chants of ‘We Bros’ over and over.

‘Dirt’ is one of the biggest tracks on the album and it is easy to see why, with catchy sing-a-longs such as “Go tell fire” and “Dollar is not your friend” as well as a pounding drumbeat; this should be a fan favourite at live shows.

‘Spitting Blood’ is another track you may already know, with a video released under the name ‘Spitting It Concrete Like The Golden Sun God’ is most probably the bands most popular track with almost 140,000 views on youtube alone and is another song to sing along with, with chants of ‘Spitting Blood! Spitting Blood!’

 

 

Go Tell Fire to The Mountain reaches its end with track ‘Heavy Pop’ which opens just like ‘L Y F’ did, with that trademark airy Wu Lyf sound which then commits to a dancy number which builds and builds until unfortunately fading out.

Wu Lyf were once a cryptic band shunning the media and limelight whenever it came calling, but with a debut like this it is going to become increasingly difficult to ignore the press; not that they will care…they are doing this on their own terms.

 

Words by Aaron Lewins.


Go Tell Fire is out now.