Wunderhorse’s ‘Midas’: Emotional immersion from generational greats
Immense, gritty and brilliant, Wunderhorse are as endlessly addictive as ever.
★★★★★
Photo: Wunderhorse
When Wunderhorse released their debut album Cub in 2022, the musical project of the former Dead Pretties frontman, Jacob Slater, was quickly heralded as one of the greatest new guitar acts in the UK, with singles like Purple and Leader of the Pack dominating airwaves and alt-addicts’ minds alike.
Quickly returning to the studio after a relentless touring schedule that not only brought Slater and his band – consisting of Harry Fowler (guitar), Jamie Staples (drums) and Peter Woodin (bass) – closer together, but also marked the end of Slater’s solo era, the now fully-cemented four-piece were faced with the expectation of Wunderhorse’s second album.
But instead of leaning into the well-travelled creative plains of polishing and perfecting their second release, the band instead ran in the opposite direction, writing their first fully collaborative album based on gut instinct and strength of feeling alone.
The first sign of this came with the release of title track Midas. It’s groove-flecked, bluesy looseness encapsulating the live rawness that now defines their second record whilst also unleashing a fierier side to Slater’s vocals that has been scratching brains ever since.
From then on, it was clear we had entered a new era in Wunderhorse’s evolution; one in which the band understood the product they were trying to create so deeply that this became embedded in every aspect of their creative process. No rehearsal. No filters. No perfection – and it feels like this is exactly what we get on Midas.
Bursting at the seams with the surging guitars of melodic rock and the dissonant grittiness of underground noise, tracks like Rain and Emily reveal that it’s in the unpolished fringes that this album gets its power. Each track feels alive and raw like we’re witnessing the album’s recording for the first time.
Silver is perhaps the most ‘complete’ track on the record, with its crisp guitar chords and narrative lyricism reflecting those ugly sides of yourself that you try to keep secret: “Yeah I was crooked from the cradle / I’m a bastard from the start / And I kept some pretty people / In the hollow of my heart.” It’s a song that easily cuts the emotional chords that are just about keeping us together and is a classic example of Slater’s immense songwriting ability, though that’s not to say this is not present elsewhere on the album.
As much as it’s difficult to pick a favourite track from this emotionally immersive record, mid-album highlight Superman may be Wunderhorse’s best song to date. Despite its softer soundscape, its vivid lyricism and melancholy atmosphere makes for an entirely consuming experience. Each chord progression and note combination rips at your gut and wrenches at your heart, letting decades of pent-up emotion spill out, as you get caught up in Slater’s hugely cinematic tale of being misunderstood and underestimated. It’s only when the last note rings out that you suddenly become conscious of the deep breaths rising and falling in your chest, and the world that you were mentally soaring above for so long.
But before there’s time to catch your breath, Wunderhorse rip right into the jagged intro of July – a real gut-punch of a single – and the anthemic Cathedrals. Both of which bring to mind the likes of Nirvana with their scrappy musicality, thudding drums and strained vocals. You can tell Wunderhorse weren’t trying to get the perfect scream or the perfect twang on the guitar, but were feeling their way through the music to hit the emotional core of each track and allow it to communicate the way it was meant to. There’s no predictability in this band, just sheer commitment to the story they’re telling.
Nowhere is this clearer than in album finisher Aeroplane, a near nine-minute epic, that is a real testament to the band’s creative transformation; thanks to its plodding acoustic melody and noisy, fragmented guitar solo. Bringing all the rawness of a live Wunderhorse performance, Fowler’s ear-splitting solo brings a sense of discomfort into the warmth of the track, showing the band’s intense commitment to letting their music live, breathe and take its course, as well as their staunch refusal to let their songs be boxed into industry standards. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but its effects are as overwhelming (if not more) than a massive whirlwind of a guitar solo.
Having abandoned precision in favour of raw power and emotional sensitivity, Wunderhorse’s Midas is an album of unexpected qualities that is both a real musical triumph and one that will be remembered as crucial in bringing 21st-century alt-rock to the mainstream. It’s rich, guttural and a real tear-jerker for anyone whose been through it, and so it very much feels like a defining release for this ever-exciting band.
Midas is out August 30th via Communion. Pre-order the album here.