Since releasing their second offering ‘Midas’ into the scrutiny of the public eye, Wunderhorse have reaped the rewards of band evolution, climbing the rungs of the music industry and fully emerging as one of the best Britain has to offer right now.
The sophomore album from the English band is a raw, unflinchingly passionate display of pain, suffering and a longing for something more. Speaking to Atwood Magazine last year frontman and songwriter Jacob Slater discussed the song ‘Superman’, he explained the meaning behind the person fabricated within the song. “In reality, he’s just working late in an office somewhere, in a job that he hates. But in his head, he’s drifting up through the air vents and going up into the night, and flying through the night sky.” For me thai captures perfectly the feeling you get listening to the tracks on ‘Midas’. The sensation of disconnect from reality, the unfathomably common feeling of being unhappy with regular, 9-5 life. I think that’s why people appreciate the album so much, the visceral lyricism and the nakedness of the music.
The group took to Instagram to thank fans this morning, captioning the post, ‘‘One year of Midas. What a ride. Thank you x’’.
Fans on the mailing list also received a link to a voice message from frontman Jacob Slater. He said “Hey, it’s Jacob from Wunderhorse, our record ‘Midas’ came out a year ago. I just want to say thank you to all the fans who’ve stuck with us over the years or joined us along the way. We hope to see you all at a show very soon.”
Wunderhorse were limited to intimacy in 2024 playing academy’s and student unions, but what this gave birth to were intimate sessions of discovery leading to thousands falling in love with a band they could call their own. The raw talent and the bona fide emotion was infectious, the booming vocals and the crashing, chaotic synchrony of the four men on stage left no doubt in my mind Wunderhorse were on a one way track to stardom.
Last year you would have been in a crowd of around 1,500, so seeing them less than a year later play to around 10,000 dedicated supporters at Alexandra Palace was in many ways incredible, but in no way shocking.
The group have since released single ‘The Rope’, which could mark the paving of a more hopeful path for Wunderhorse’s sound and lyricism. The limited edition vinyl sold out in minutes, and the song was even compensated with a live performance on ‘BBC’s Later with Jools Holland’, alongside a band by the name of Pulp… not bad company.
The next stop for the band is Auckland in early September as they take their chaos down under. With regards to new music, Slater hinted in an interview at Glastonbury that there are “a few ideas flying around, but nothing concrete yet.”
In light of the ascension post-‘Midas’, 2026 could well be the year of the horse.
