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Having played to a half-full venue back in June, WU LYF’s return trip to The Kazimier saw the Mancunians play to double the amount with chaotic scenes stagefront.
With the five hundred capacity Kazimier a near sell-out, the ‘Foundation have clearly picked up scores of new members.
While the band have been garlanded with critical plaudits, doubters have begun to accuse the quartet of hype.
The band’s thunderous performance quickly smashed such opinions to pieces however as the four piece turned in a charged set in front of a rapturous audience.
A long teasing wait was concluded with the lighting of the band’s logo/totem pole, the quartet descending from The Kazimier’s dressing room, the audience howling their name like werewolves.
While arguably not breaking any new ground with their loose amalgam of Explosions in the Sky and Animal Collective, the ‘LYF delivered their material with such conviction and emotional weight any reservations were quickly dismissed.
Singer Ellery Roberts delivered his Springsteen-esque vocals with his head thrown back, frequently thudding his chest between words like an anguished soul testifying, almost shredding his larynx during Heavy Pop.
Spitting Blood received the biggest reception of the set, the African guitar riffs of Evans Kati colliding with one of the band’s most melodic vocal lines.
Elsewhere, the anthemic Dirt saw the crowd hollering the band’s words back to them, Roberts’ gospel organ and Joseph Manning’s thudding bass drum beats and thrashed cymbals powering the song forward.
The barrier-less Kazimier saw several stage invasions, as some of the crowd’s near-delirious response boiled over onto the stage.
After disappearing from the stage the quartet returned with a surprise treat of a cover of Chris Issak’s 1990 hit Wicked Game, lapped up by the crowd.
Departing the stage after a solid hour of state of the art indie rock, WU LYF’s heavy pop is one of the most potent musical forces around at the present time.
Photo by Marie Hazelwood