So there they were on stage again. A reunion that seemed impossible just a few years ago. No, I’m not talking about Oasis, but their Manchester brothers in Wu Lyf. The quartet that broke up in 2012 after just one album and several highly acclaimed gigs.
Especially frontman Ellery Roberts was then adamant that he would never play with this band again. The reason for the schism is still partly unclear, but in the spring of 2025 it was announced that the four had gathered, talked, and addressed any misunderstandings. And in addition, started working on new music together!
I could hardly believe my eyes when I read about it; in my world, their comeback was so much bigger than the Gallagher brothers making up and going out on a pension-funding—I mean touring—journey.
I won’t bore the reader with my obsession with Wu Lyf, but let me just say that I saw them a handful of times in connection with the release of the debut album Go tell fire to the mountain in 2011. Gothenburg, Malmö, Stockholm, and London were visited and every show both began and ended in a state of euphoria. When the band announced their breakup, a small part of me died. I genuinely felt grief, as if a close friend or relative had disappeared for good.
So of course I was at the band’s first show after the comeback, at a small pub in Manchester. The euphoria among the hundred or so lucky fans was immeasurable, and happily, several of the band’s new songs were really good.
But what is it that makes Wu Lyf so exceptionally good? Music is hard to explain, but the mix of indie rock, catchy melodies, and the ability to wrap in massive sing-along choruses is a big reason.
And of course the strangely magnetic Ellery Roberts, who enters the stage last of all, in the same pimped denim jacket with the LYF logo on the back that he wore 15 years ago. Now nicely faded and full of holes.
Any warning about nostalgia quickly dissipates when the band opens with A new life is coming from the new album—a literal declaration that the band is now back with the same strength and intensity as before. Immediately after, the familiar tones of Cave song begin, and the front rows of the nearly packed Nalen practically boil.
Ellery Roberts has us following his every command quickly, and the comparison with a musical cult leader like Nick Cave comes naturally. Not for nothing is the band name an acronym for World Unite Lucifer Youth Foundation, and it’s clear that most in attendance are completely absorbed by the performance.
And just like the chorus in the song Spitting blood, Ellery looks genuinely happy to hear the audience screaming “We are so happy, happy to see. All of our children will run blind and free” together with him.
There are more gems to list, like the anthem We Bros and the epic Concrete gold, but also the new Letting go. It’s actually about Ellery Roberts’ late grandfather, but tonight becomes a touching tribute to the band’s recently departed friend Joe. Not only Ellery’s tears flow as the emotional song nears its end.
For the final encore comes Heavy pop (which the band also calls their music style) and it so well sums up everything good about the band’s music. It starts out quietly and darkly before exploding in wounded vocals and dramatic guitars that strike both body and soul.
One of the t-shirts the band sells at the merch stand has the text “CHOOSE LYF”, and in these troubled times of mudslinging, polarization, and red lines, the choice is easy. Choose life, love, and care—nothing else is needed for a better world.
