Wu Lyf’s former bassist never explicitly states that his new single is a story of the group’s breakup, but it doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots.
Following the Manchester band’s dissolution in late 2012, Tom McClung took off on his own under the pseudonym Francis Lung. His first single, “A Selfish Man,” is cleaner and crisper than Wu Lyf was, and iT’s less dance-y than the group’s other fall-out trio, Los Porcos. Yet the track retains Wu Lyf’s sense of eerie pop, smooth talking its way into the conversation with both humility and persistence: “But I don’t wanna know you / don’t wanna understand / I can let you go / ’cause I’m a selfish man” echoes a heartbreak both professional and emotional.
So, the song is a confessional — a would-be peek behind the curtain that’s been shrouding Wu Lyf’s collapse for over a year. More importantly, “A Selfish Man” has an irresistible groove, a refreshingly clear croon, and a structure solid enough to support Francis Lung’s inevitable swell.