WU LYF @ Opera House Studio,Sydney (30/5/11)

Sat 4th Jun, 2011 in Gig Reviews

We live in strange times. The constant churn and dribble of public relations can make it hard to discern if a band really are practicing scientologists that met in a methadone clinic and discovered they were estranged relatives, or if it’s cleverly disguised spin. In an industry that appears to be eating itself, it seems that success is parallel to how many press releases you pump out, how concrete and ‘unique’ your image is and how many blogs you can get to buy into it. Words like buzz and hype are used more often then full stops. Which makes it all the more refreshing and ironic when WU LYF prove that the best publicity can be no publicity at all.

Now that the mystique had settled (a little), it was time to see the band we knew so little about. You know they’re enigmatic when they enter and the audience doesn’t applause. Post-eerie wolf howls, front man of sorts Ellery Roberts begins the organ intro for Go Tell Fire to the Mountain; a taunting post-punk hymn. The rolling hooks shuffle between a bi-polar rhythm that pulses and wanes in a strange calculated chaos. Roberts’, who has the microphone a good inch above his head, strains his raspy growl; the only comprehensible lyrics being “I’ll love you for-eh-verrr.”

Next there’s a streak of unfamiliar songs, presumably tracks for the upcoming album. None are as forceful or ambitious as the show-opener, but rather they follow a similar formula of yelling and uptight drums in a bubble of aqueous atmospheric riffs.While the limitations of Roberts’ voice are made obvious in some songs, the guttural mumbles fit in well on tracks like Concrete Gold.

Four songs in and there’s a funny tension about the room and all I can put it down to is a restrained, static and overall sucky crowd. Half the band removed their shirts and performed another new one, this time with some unrepentant drums and testosterone fueled chest slapping. Joe Manning is merciless, absolutely punishing the floor-tom and hi-hat like they’d wronged him.

Possibly the band’s strongest song, Split it Concrete Like the Golden Sun God is a live highlight, delivering a combination of punchy, harsh sounds with Bloc Party fretwork. It’s WU LYF’s most accessible stuff. Dubbed the most original band of 2010, its unique concoctions like this reverbed-out stunner that earned them this tag.

Bassist, Tom McClung is the most animated of the group in his daggy Nikes and off-white wifebeater, running left of stage, jumping off amps adding snippets of dialogue and anecdotes, none of which we can understand. At one stage, Roberts tells him in jest to shutup, and while there was no love loss, he withdrew a bit.

The set closes strong with new single (if you can call them singles), Dirt and crowd pleaser Heavy Pop. The echoes, crash-cymbal clamour and hypnagogic melodies meld well together. Roberts goes and stands in the light of the band’s crucifix symbol and they leave to their biggest applause of the night.

It’s a really odd encore and seems genuinely spur-of-the-moment. McClung appears and begins to play one of his own creations. His voice is unfortunately similar to a twangy Nickleback or Creed-like accent, it’s faint and forgivable though, no where near as bad. The rest of the band reemerge, Roberts taking bass duties, and the song finishes on an amiable enough note.

In an interview, the band described their live shows with friends being ruined by art students and I can’t help but reach the same conclusion about tonight. Did we ruin WU LYF’s show? The mood in the crowd remained a weird mix of excitement and curiosity, tempered by standoffish elitism. While the crowd was unable to shake of inhibitions, WU LYF was able to shake of the ‘mystery band’ stigma, letting us focus on their music.