WH Lung

Proud upholders of Manchester’s fine tradition of existentialist synth-rock

WH Lung’s unusual band name is wellknown in Manchester – it comes from a Chinese cash’n’carry on the edge of the city centre. “It’s insignificant as you walk past, but if you look closely there’s a certain beauty in it,” explains vocalist Joseph E. “It sounds pretentious, but at the same time it’s a Chinese supermarket. We really liked that duality.”

The name is an accurate representation of WH Lung, the band: down-to-earth northerners who are also happy to talk about existentialism and the meaning of life. Both topics are broached on their terrific debut, Incidental Music, which came out to rave reviews in April. The album’s blend of electronica, guitars, space, tension, motorik grooves and Joseph’s urgent, twitchy delivery has won comparisons to LCD Soundsystem, Hookworms and Neu! (to which we’d also add The Beta Band and, on the slower, more elegiac synthpop tracks such as “Empty Room”, early OMD).

“We’ve been compared to a lot of bands,” says Joseph, “a great many who we’ve never listened to! It’s become oxymoronic, but if people are describing us in all these various ways it suggests we’re doing something different.” Although Joseph, Tom P

(bass) and Tom S (guitars) grew up in Greater Manchester, many of their formative musical experiences were in Leeds. After moving there to study, they cut their teeth earlier in the decade on the city’s thriving postpunk scene. “It was an exciting time,” recalls Tom P. “[We’d play] all the time. Someone’s lounge, in the corner… We didn’t know what we were doing, but through making mistakes you realise what you want to do.” The electronic elements in their sound came to the fore when they returned to Manchester and wrote songs using a drum machine. In 2017, the online release of the sevenminute “Inspiration!” piqued the interest of Melodic Records, as well as Green Man and Bluedot festivals, and the band were on their way.

WH Lung’s abstract lyrics are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. “Mr P is left stranded on a coastal jut of white rock,” they sing in the aforementioned “Inspiration!” “With Jesus, Zeus and a handful of sun gods.” So what the devil is that all about? “It’s about a character called Mr P who marches into Parliament and demands that things change,” Joseph explains. “So people follow him off the cliff then decide against it.” A parable for Brexit times? “Maybe it’s looking at godlessness and idol worship, a suppressed yearning for meaning.”

“Empty Room” was inspired by an imaginary “phantasmagorical” walk through the cemetery that Joseph’s old house overlooked, while new single “Symmetry”, with its references to statues of Alan Turing, Friedrich Engels and Victoria Station homelessness, uses a Manchester city centre travelogue to address the way we’re becoming desensitised to poverty. “People pay less attention to a homeless person than a statue,” sighs. Joseph. “That’s the madness of it.”

As for the future, the band don’t give much away, but they’re excited. “We’re trying to be different again,” Tom explains. “We’ve had a few new ideas and you think, ‘Can that be us?” Joseph chuckles. “And then you think, ‘Why not?’”

Single “Symmetry” is out now on Melodic; WH Lung’s UK tour starts at Newcastle Riverside on November 22