Obscure to a point of not existing, WU LYF appear only through rumors and whispers. Go Tell Fire To The Mountain, their debut album, is the only concrete evidence they exist. We got hold of it and decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Late ’70s Manchester, a crowd gathers to hear a band play. They’re not sure who this band is nor do they care. No hype, no press, who is this Joy Division anyway? That’s the overall impression I get from WU LYF. People don’t seem to know what to make of them and their antics; shunning all press and promotion. This band is not one you’re going to have mixed feelings about, you’re either going to hate them or love them. We’re here to dissect the only thing that matters though, their music.

‘L Y F’ is the opening track and sounds something straight out of a Catholic Sunday service. It should because the album was recorded by the band independently in a church. The sound is almost immediately mesmerizing, soft, inviting you in, but then you hear the vocals. The biggest challenge listening to WU LYF is definitely getting over the fact you will not be able to make out most of the lyrics. You’ll probably be craving a Halls just listening to them, but given enough time they melt into the music which is simply brilliant. ‘Cave Song’ shows us more indiscernible lyrics, but with haunting pain the band plays on. By this point you should know whether to snap the album in half or continue listening.

Feeling a bit bewildered, my attempt to describe their sound is this: it’s a pubescent James Hetfield screeching with sweet down tempo gospel rock sound that The XX has mastered and that’s not even close to accurately describing WU LYF. Before the album was released, the press had no idea who each individual band member was. Knowing now it makes no difference because they are all total new-comers, but with a sound years beyond their experience.

‘Such a Sad Puppy Dog’ is in no rush to pull your heartstrings, but it will with its soulful melancholy. We’re presented with a weak duo of tracks, ‘Summer Bliss’ and ‘We Bros’ are pretty average and can’t define the sound of WU LYF as well as their standout tracks. Then suddenly you’re bombarded with ‘Spitting Blood’ which in my mind is the track that will most often convince someone off the street to listen to more. With an anthem like value of mumbling along, don’t be surprised if this is the track that gets WU LYF on your radio. ‘Dirt’ begins with an addictive drum buildup and follows through with equally haunting organs and vocals. It soon turns violent with the vocals begging you to move, if I know what I’m talking about you will be. Easily the most beautiful song I’ve heard in a long time, beastly voice and all, is ‘Concrete Gold.’ The guitar is really put through its paces at this point, more evidence of a youthful prodigy that can only get better. ’14 Crowns for Me and Your Friends’ calms us down, bringing us back to the angst-driven vocals dominating the first half of the album.

Finally the band does their best to leave an impression with ‘Heavy Pop’ my personal favorite track which includes every decent sound extracted from the album in its entirety. If I sound impressed by WU LYF’s debut album, it’s because I am. One can argue that their hype can’t possibly live up to Go Tell Fire To The Mountain, but I came at this album from the other side. I’d never heard of them or their pranks on the press at all, not a single review nor shred of info. Given the album, I am convinced that it’s more than enough evidence of a band that will make a mark, especially for an independently produced and distributed debut album from a band with no history.

Keep an ear out for these guys, they’re going places.