LUH
“Unites”
Digital Single

Less than a year after crafting their fascinating debut LP, 2011’s raucous Go Tell Fire To The Mountain, Manchester-based quartet WU LYF abruptly and disappointingly disbanded. Since their 2012 split, the members have resurfaced sporadically, most notably with bassist/vocalist Tom “Francis Lung” McClung’s shuffling “A Selfish Man” and mercurial vocalist Ellery James Roberts’ cavernous “Kerou’s Lament.” While both singles have merit, they both feel incomplete without an album to live on, like a tasty appetizer with no entree.

Now, Roberts returns with a new project, a collaboration with his partner, the photographer Ebony Hoorn. Lead single, “Unites,” features much of the WU LYF hallmarks: the barrel-chested vocals; the plaintive, heart-on-sleeve lyrics; the explosive, maximalist melodies. In short, it sounds fucking great. That said, it’ll need a full statement to go with it, if it wants to make the kind of lasting impact Go Tell Fire to The Mountain did. Roberts is obviously capable, but whether that record will materialize is anybody’s guess.