After a 15-year hiatus, Manchester indie band Wu Lyf has returned with their new album 'A Wave That Will Never Break,' marking a significant comeback that includes a complete rejection of mainstream streaming platforms like Spotify in favor of building their own independent community.
Frontman Ellery Roberts reflected on the band's initial breakup in 2012, describing it as a necessary step when the music became "an empty experience." He explained, "When the spirit dies and it becomes a performance, it becomes quite an empty experience. Even though there was success, if your heart's not in it and it becomes a destructive thing in your life, then it feels necessary to step away from it."
Bassist Tom McClung added that the band had become "part of the machine that makes everyone do things the same way," leading to disillusionment and internal conflicts. "There were resentments that grew," he admitted. "Things come to a head sometimes. If it wasn't Ellery then it might have been someone else."
Now reunited, the band has launched their new material exclusively through their platform worldunite.org, which offers not just music but journals, early ticket access, exclusive merchandise, and fan forums. They've removed their entire back catalog from Spotify and even trolled the service by uploading a Homer Simpson-sung version of their recent single 'The Fool' that redirects listeners to their own hub.
Roberts explained their philosophy: "We want to build something from this foundation that we find quite solid and interesting. An alternative is possible, and you only know that by trying it. We don't know what will come of our endeavors at this moment in time, but we have all agreed to stand by our choices and see them through."
McClung noted the difference in their approach now compared to their younger years: "When you're young you've got so much to prove, and you don't really know why. The best stuff comes when you've got nothing to prove, and that's where we're at now. You can really hear that in the music as well; it's really not trying to do anything."
Describing the new album's sound, Roberts said, "There is sense of relief and an exhalation, rather than a pensive in-breath. There's something quite accepting in the way that the record flows. From the outset there's more tension and the songs are more driving, then it gets to its conclusion with a sense of acceptance and acknowledgement that life is life and it is what you make of it."
The band members pursued separate projects during their hiatus, with Roberts forming Lost Under Heaven while McClung, drummer Joe Manning, and guitarist Evans Kati created music as Los Porcos with members of the band FAMY. Their reunion represents what Roberts calls "a full circle moment" that brings them back to the community they built before their split.
"Life spirals around itself sometimes," Roberts mused about their unexpected return to making music together after more than a decade apart.