WU LYF played Elsewhere

WU LYF made their long-awaited return to the U.S. on Thursday night as they took to Brooklyn's Elsewhere following visa issues that forced them to reschedule from earlier this spring.

A few months ago, WU LYF released their sophomore album A Wave That Will Never Break. It arrived fifteen years after their debut record and to celebrate, the band have finally made their way back to the United States to play some live shows. Following last year's return to the stage in Europe, the band reassembled for another brief tour this spring across the pond, but Thursday's show in Brooklyn marked the first time the band has played in America since April 2012 (I happened to catch one of their last performances stateside before they took their long break). As the band has removed their music from streaming services and having never bought the LP when it dropped a decade and a half ago, WU LYF isn't a band I've listened to regularly over the past ten plus years, but their sound is intrinsically nostalgic and when the band took to the stage and those striking synths shout out over the crowd, it was an instant hook that brought all of the tremendous feelings that these songs conjure up right back into full effect. With vocals that sound as if they've been filtered through gravel, Ellery James Robert approached the microphone and took full command of a crowd that had patiently waited for this moment for quite some time. Guitars slowly faded into the mix before launching towards post-rock crescendos that catapulted the emotions of the room to towering heights while thudding bass did its best to weigh things down as the drums popped like fireworks in the distance. Massive beats drove forward the tracks and as soon as the band kicked in, the crowd was swaying, thrusting, and lurching forward with each propulsive sway of the bass. An engrossing moment, looking around and seeing everyone in similar movement, following the momentum of the tunes was entrancing. The control over the audience was only enhanced by Ellery's ruthless bark as he dug deep from within to deliver these primal vocals that hit with such a savage nature that the juxtaposition of it against the rippling beauty of the guitar riffs seemed even more apparent live than on the records. New song "Letting Go" was one of the best received from the recent material, it's gliding melodies bringing out more of a brit-pop style than one might expect and the gruff of Roberts' voice somehow blends in with this more smoothed out sound for something that still rings with passion even without so much of the band's bark. Of course it was the songs from the first album that had everyone in attendance weak in the knees and several moments allowed for the crowd to sing back in gang style chants that made the night feel enlivened even when some of the sound came across a bit flat. "We Bros" was triumphant, the smack of the snare drum perfectly accentuating the motion-filled guitar strokes and "Heavy Pop" had everyone trying to match Ellery's level, giving out their best howls to join his raucous roar. Years away, growing up and raising families didn't derail the community spirit and the passion that made WU LYF feel so special when they hit the scene in the early 2010s and having a reason to gather round to let out these guttural screams one more time feels more needed than ever.