With a massive day of Vivid behind me, I moved onto FBi Social at Kings Cross Hotel to close out my night, catching an acclaimed Vivid artist who I unfortunately missed earlier in the week: Manchester’s Wu Lyf.
Having sat down with Ellery and Tom of the group a few days prior (you’ll be able read about our chat on the site very soon!), it was wonderful to have the opportunity to catch them before they flew home – especially in a wonderful and intimate venue like FBi Social. And it just so happened that their set was the highlight of my day, too!
I managed to catch Pluto Jonze as I made my way into the venue. Jumping between a variety of musical landscapes: a bit of Royksopp here, a bit of Zero 7 there – all catchy and well considered – Pluto Jonze is one artist who has used the live scene of Sydney to refine his craft over the last couple of years, honestly getting better with each performance. Mark my words: If tonight’s performance is anything to go by, Pluto Jonze – hitting the note of perfection – is destined for greatness.
Illuminated by little more than a string of fairy lights on the stage (continuing the mystique they’re created for themselves), Mancunians Wu Lyf were epic from the word go. Performing tracks off their debut Go Tell Fire To The Mountain, the set launched with the sound of organs and Ellery Robert’s unique, yet strangely familiar voice. When combined with the worldly appeal of their music, they herald memories of early Kings of Leon, Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen. On a local level, you even relate to Paper Scissors, The Holidays (think “Moonlight Hours” in particular) and Jinja Safari. Ellery isn’t the only one who is given the vocal limelight – Tom leads on vocals for a song which seems to evoke a more country feel. Yet no matter how many comparisons you make, the only way to understand their music is to listen to it yourself.
Certainly unique, no? Vivid has given the band a great chance to get a grassroots following in Australia – and this is exactly what they will have achieved in their visit here. I know I certainly hadn’t heard of them before they were announced for Vivid, but I have a feeling that I’ll be hearing plenty more about them in the years to come.
They exude confidence and skill on the stage, in something that is a truly impressive live experience. Having originally played the tracks live in a Church for their recording, one thing that shouldn’t have surprised me was just how well it all translated live. I was half expecting the tracks to disappear through a wave of sound and distortion. But that wasn’t the case at all. They translated perfectly and beautifully live, while still retaining a life of their own, evolving in new environments.
When I spoke to the guys later in the night, they seemed unhappy with the performance, citing tech troubles. However, unlike Dom earlier in the day, Wu Lyf pushed through whatever tech problems they were having (aside from some low vocals on Tom’s mic, I couldn’t notice a thing), and won over the crowd. Wu Lyf live up to all the hype and there’s no doubt in mind that their string of shows in Sydney will be the start of a very long term relationship. Well, I’m certainly hoping for it in any case…
