Walking onto the stage to Beck’s ‘Loser’ playing, it was very clear that Wunderhorse were anything but. Looking effortlessly suave in black sunglasses, the band’s frontman Jacob Slater immediately launched into the punchy title track from their new album Midas. It was immediately evident that this gig would be brilliant.
The range of musical styles they experimented with meant that there was never a dull moment during their performance. Whilst their more introspective debut album Cub draws on lyrical and melodic influences such as Jeff Buckley and Radiohead, Midas pays an authentic tribute to the grunge sound, combining raspy vocals with darker guitar riffs. In this sense, Wunderhorse transport the audience to the 90s, taking them on a journey from the wistful nostalgia of ‘Teal’, to the haunting melodic vocals of ‘Butterflies’ and unapologetic head-banging rock anthems such as ‘Silver’.
This 90s feeling was amplified by the fact that there were very few phones out in the crowd. In an era where we post our entire lives on social media, seeing a band connect with an audience so much that they get lost in the music and enjoy it in the moment was refreshing to see. As the crowd soaked in the show, the band made them feel at home, like belting out the words to their songs was the moment they’d waited their whole lives for.
What separates Wunderhorse from other rising bands is the storytelling of their shows. It felt like watching a play rather than a concert. Slater took the crowd on a nostalgic journey through his life via some softer, sentimental songs, which lyrically explore his youth and past relationships, before delving into hard-hitting ballads, which appeared to bring him close to tears. The simple relatability of their lyrics and Slater’s raspy singing made the performance highly intimate for the audience, giving us an exclusive insight into his personal life. By the time they finished on ‘July’ in the encore – a dark grunge ballad reminiscent of Alice in Chains – the audience had a watched a man descend into madness; hitting the drums with his guitar and wielding a mic stand above his head before collapsing in despair.
After a show like that, watching the band leave and the lights come was an unfortunate reminder that good things don’t last forever. It was hard to accept that it had ended. The audience seemed to want a second encore, at the very least. Walking back out onto Oxford Road, everything suddenly seemed so dull again compared to the electric atmosphere of the gig, and people were herds saying they were already looking up the dates for their next tour. Having previously seen Wunderhorse live when they supported Declan McKenna on his tour in April, it was hard to believe they could deliver an even more impressive performance the second time, however this gig showed they were on an upward trajectory like no other.
What’s better than 20 minutes of manic alt-rock sung by a man who appears to be going insane right before your eyes?
Jacob Slater is one of the best frontmen of the modern day, and the way he pours his heart and soul into the performance of every song really transcends into the crowd, taking them on an emotional journey from nostalgia to grief to all in the space of an hour and a half.
Due to their revival of the best parts of the 90s, synthesis of grunge and indie sounds and engaging performance style, it is likely that Wunderhorse will become one of the bands that defines this era of indie music that seems to yearn for the past, alongside Fontaines DC and Sam Fender. With only two (phenomenal) albums out, they have already sold out concert halls, and gathered critical acclaim from NME and The Rolling Stone. It is clear that their confidence is growing, exemplified by a three minutes of funky guitar improv before ‘Leader of the Pack’ – they appear to be unstoppable.
Wunderhorse at Manchester Academy was one of the best gigs of the year, and it is exciting to see what they can bring to music in the years to come.
