W. H. Lung are stepping back for now, at least temporarily. The Manchester-based dance-rock outfit has been active for a decade and earned a spot as a Stereogum Band To Watch following their 2021 sophomore album Vanities. Their latest record, Every Inch Of Earth Pulsates, arrived in 2024. Today, W. H. Lung reveal an open-ended hiatus and release a bittersweet farewell single titled “Where Will You Go.”
The band has one last show left on the calendar. Their final appearance is scheduled for November 20 at Manchester’s Albert Hall, a set that will double as a 10th-anniversary celebration and a goodbye. The bright, rippling, handclap-filled track “Where Will You Go” should resonate beautifully in that setting. In their announcement, the members of W. H. Lung appear to be departing on good terms. Here is their message, in their own words:
“Where Will You Go?,” our new single, is released today. This song is a reflection on the band’s journey and a celebration of our time together over the last 10 years. If the song feels like a goodbye, it’s because our 10-year anniversary gig at The Albert Hall on 20th November is the last in the diary, and we don’t know when or whether we’ll be back.
We hadn’t planned to write any more new material this year, but when we made that decision the song and its lyrics came very quickly. “Where Will You Go?” is about the band, the band’s history, and all the hope and ambition that attended our formation. It moves through the places we’ve lived and toured, from Leeds to Todmorden and from the US to Europe, and arrives at our uncertain future like a homecoming.
Tom and Dave have both welcomed sons into the world this year, so this song is also for Sonny and Oliver. It addresses a young man who looks out at what lies ahead. It’s for us, of course, and who we were when the band began, but it’s also for them and the beautiful uncertainty of the life that they embark on. We want to send them a message of adventure and positivity.
Appropriately enough, we recorded the track at the Nave, where Tom now has a studio, with Matt Peel, who we worked with on our first ever releases and who proved a guiding influence on the sound and ambition of the band as a recording project.
We very much want this gig and this song to ring out like a celebration of the band and of everyone who has supported us along the way. We’ve always loved writing songs from the heart so we can play them live and really mean it, so playing this song in Manchester will be particularly special. Doing this homecoming show, and being able to decide for ourselves how we mark the end of this chapter, is a rare blessing and fills us with a lot of heart and energy. Ultimately, we want the band to remain a source of love.
Ten years is a long time, and we’re proud of what we’ve done and grateful to the people who came with us for the journey. The song will be available on a limited edition two track 12″ along with “High Pressure Days” at the Albert Hall show.
Check it out below.
