Wunderhorse – Midas

Many were left broken-hearted after Jacob Slater’s first band, the chaotic punk threesome Dead Pretties, split after just over a year together. Thankfully, it wasn’t the end of Slater’s musical career, and he soon began writing songs with Wunderhorse, who, after a well-received debut, are now releasing their second highly anticipated album, Midas.

When listening to Wunderhorse and Slater’s voice, you can understand why his band has been compared to Radiohead. His vocals echo Thom Yorke’s earlier singing style on Radiohead’s Pablo Honey and The Bends. But Slater has a lower, more gravelly quality that lends itself so well to the sad and frustrated songs that make up Midas.

The short and snappy title track and opener immediately catches you with its upbeat guitar and Slater’s poetic lyrics. While Wunderhorse are not a punk band by any means, some of that raucous energy that propelled Dead Pretties is still here, and it’s spread tidily around the record to offset the solemness on some of the tracks. This solemness can be found on the second emo-grunge track, Rain: “Did it slowly snatch the sunlight out of every waking day / And you banish it you vanish it but something staring still remains / In the empty frame.”

Slater has clearly had his fair share of heartbreak and lessons in love, which feature a few times on the record. Emily resembles a sad, wanting and gritty love song, while Silver touches on the ugliness of love. It’s hard not to feel slightly uncomfortable when the chorus breaks in with the brutal, “I broke your wings so you won’t fly / You’re mine, you’rе mine, you’re mine”.

There are snippets of Velvet Underground on the despairing Superman, and although it verges on too earnest at times, it erupts into a pleasant enough crescendo. A real strong point for the record occurs with July, a gloriously angst-ridden affair that eventually sees Slater screaming “I’m ready to die” full force over blasting distorted guitar. It’s deeply satisfying.

The album ends on the epic eight minutes and 41 seconds of Aeroplane, a gentle song that fittingly references Rolling Stone’s Beggars Banquet. It’s got a slight country and western feel to it and ends on an impressively raw guitar solo, which does give the impression of aeroplanes soaring above in the sky.

Midas is a record full of heartbreak, sadness and searching. The band have successfully conveyed modern disillusionment while drawing on veteran influences, and they’ve produced something raw and perfectly imperfect. Wunderhorse fans will be happy, and many others will follow, no doubt.

Hannah Broughton
Image: Polocho

Midas is released on 30^th August 2024. For further information or to order the album visit Wunderhorse’s website here.

Watch the video for the single here: