ALBUM REVIEW: LUH - Spiritual Songs For Lovers To Sing

Some readers may remember Ellery Roberts as the frontman of WU LYF, the mysterious Mancunian quartet who burned briefly but brightly at the beginning of the decade.
LUH - Spiritual Songs For Lovers to Sing (Mute)LUH - Spiritual Songs For Lovers to Sing (Mute)
LUH - Spiritual Songs For Lovers to Sing (Mute)

After that band's untidy dissolution, it appeared the gravel-voiced maverick had retired from music, but four years later he's finally made his return with another abbreviated labour of love.

Short for Lost Under Heaven, LUH sees him team up with girlfriend Ebony Hoorn; a new vehicle for the same grand musical vision.

Ellery Roberts and Ebony Hoorn are LUH.Ellery Roberts and Ebony Hoorn are LUH.
Ellery Roberts and Ebony Hoorn are LUH.
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That's not to call Spiritual Songs For Lovers to Sing more of the same - indeed, with Hoorn's vocal trade-offs and ever-present synths, the tone is far more uplifting than WU LYF's one and only LP, Go Tell Fire To The Mountain.

Some things, though, haven't changed, namely the sheer emotive power of Roberts' unintelligible rasp - which still bears closer resemblance to a wounded animal than a coherent succession of words - and his penchant for the anthemic.

These come to glorious fruition on the likes of Beneath The Concrete and First Eye To The New Sky, while lovely withdrawn cuts such as Future Blues and Loyalty show a lesser-heard tender side.

It's not without its missteps ($ORO in particular stands out for all the wrong reasons), but the overwhelming impression is that it's great to hear Roberts sing again. 7/10