Nine months after the announcement of the return of Art Is Hard’s Pizza Club subscription, listening back over each of the fifteen tracks that the independent have released for free on their website as part of this series exhibits a familiar theme that runs through each track. The lo-fi production, bright / hazy chords, irresistible hooks and testing lyrical input has slowly developed each track into a cohesive, mixtape-esque collation. Each track has added another element to it’s foundations, permitting it to develop and transform into a broad, unique package. The sixteenth track, West Midlands two-piece Wulfs’ ‘Moving Out’, symbolises the progression and change for both band and the label themselves.
Forming the project after meeting at college, Dan Wilkinson and Tom Barr have carried influences over from experimenting in various bands into this lo-fi pop duo, and now with an appreciable collection of work in their back pockets are preparing to move to Leeds in search of band members, looking to add an extra dynamic to their bright, spry sound.
‘Moving Out’ is their goodbye to home, four-minutes of hazy dream-pop that is defined by it’s clarity and it’s bedroom-ethic production. It’s a track dwelling in escapism, yet each glowing hook paints a gleaming polish over the duo’s dreams of progression. The bedroom-production creates a subtle structure, each drum hit is controlled yet the controller, delicate in it’s procession which allows for the effortless hooks to create those layers of haze that encompass the track.
Their sudden dynamic change into a chugging, distorted chorus builds on the veiled sentiment in their words; ‘I know, it’s been a long time since we’ve had fun together / I know, I just can’t wait to till we get out of here’. Delivered in a shy, innocent tone, they’re daydreaming for a release that leads through the chorus, creating a daydream-like state that influences the whole tone of the track. It underlines the young group’s youthful approach, yet in no way do they lose anything in maturity. Their ability to create an infectious, enveloping piece of lo-fi haze is where they prosper most and show an experienced nous belying of their age.
For their first track, Wulfs have created a bright dream-pop starting point that basks in the warmth of it’s hooks. The prospect of developing into a full-live band is held with stirring anticipation, the addition of an extra layer to the guitars will allow them to continue to delve into their sunny-melodies that they already seem accomplished-in. From hearing this solid debut, let’s hope they get that chance.