Tulpa

Support: Speedway Star and Shaene

Wharf Chambers

29th November 2025

After a little break following a string of gigs (during which time they picked up some heavyweight radio airplay) Tulpa returned to Leeds with an album launch gig to coincide with the release of their debut LP ‘Monster Of The Week’. Given the weather conditions on the night there’s a good chance that said monster is at the very least amphibious. However, this didn’t stop the faithful packing into Wharf for a joyous evening to celebrate.

Kicking off proceedings were six-piece Speedway Star. First things first, it’s important we acknowledge that despite the overabundance of ‘talent’ shows on the telly, music is subjective. It can’t be measured or compared, there isn’t a better or worse, and its value lies purely within the listener’s reaction. That said Speedway Star had a banjo player, so they win. Hands down. No contest.  Some kind of technical issue forced an early substitution (are you paying attention Daniel Farke?) from Resonator to borrowed Jaguar and while that’s distinctly less ‘country’ it didn’t affect the delivery one bit – testament to the strength of the songwriting!

The band delivers a brand of wistful Americana with Yorkshire sensibilities – “Elsecar-na” maybe? We were even treated to a bit of lap steel guitar towards the end of the set, which, combined with the aforementioned banjo, provided a real depth of sound and quality to the tunes. Definitely a band whose approach gives them a uniqueness that I’m looking forward to hearing again!

Shaene followed on with a couple of familiar faces (Shaene herself, and bassist Varun, being part of Speedway Star on bass and drums respectively). Having caught their recent performance at HPBC supporting elwell (see Stub #4 for review) I was surprised by how different the two sets sounded - tonight, to my ears, much more fierce and aggressive yet still producing a huge soundstage from just bass, drums, guitar and acoustic. It was also great to hear Shaene talk with obvious honesty and emotion about her trans journey; the fact that Wharf is such a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community is another reason to love and protect it.

Headliners Tulpa hit the stage with Josie apologising for being somewhat under the weather recovering from flu but it didn’t appear to affect her vocals, or the show, which was mixed meticulously by sound engineer Jamie Lockhart (who also recorded the album).

Michael turned out a powerhouse performance from the back of the stage – he was bouncing, the drums were bouncing, and the stage was bouncing. Myles was throwing shapes and making his beautifully patinaed Jazzmaster sing while Dan was grinning from ear to ear over at the far side of the stage with Josie maintaining an enigmatic coolness, with her bass, front and centre.

With the album only having been revealed to the world the day before, other than the singles released in the run up, or the recent Wakefield Chantry Chapel recordings on YouTube, most of the tracks had only been heard live before. The audience was treated to an almost full run through of the album plus a couple of new songs – well as comparably ‘new’ as they can be when the album has only just dropped!

There’s a ready-made pop-perfection sound to the band, which nods to the fact this isn’t their first rodeo – more hooks and grooves than a corduroy jacket on a coat rack! The standout for me had to be the album closer, and penultimate song of the night, with the slower tempo allowing a real soulfulness to shine from both Dan’s vocals and the delicate looseness of the tune itself.  Sublime is probably a fair description for the title’s repeated refrain “Whose side are you on? Whose side are you on? Anyway” 

Definitely Tulpa’s, not even a shadow of doubt.

Words and pictures by Rusty Li.

First and Last Picture, Tulpa.  Second Picture, Speedway Star.