Gig Review: Wunderhorse
Their debut album ends with the song Epilogue but this is just the beginning for the alternative band that have already supported the likes of Pixies and Sam Fender
The last gig review I did was on Arctic Monkeys back in June, which was a great concert, but this was also great for very different reasons. This one was in a much smaller and intimate venue. We had a great view of Wunderhorse lead singer Jacob Slater and his…divisive mullet. This was more emo, had a lot more energy to it, and in all honesty, the crowd was way more up for this than when I saw Arctic Monkeys.
I criticised Alex Turner for not interacting with the crowd much, but somehow Slater managed to interact even less. I don’t think he said a single to word to us all night, but it did fit in with the emo vibe he was aiming for.
Jacob Slater is a very cool name and he is a brilliant frontman. You might think of sad music as stereotypically boring, or slow, or the other extreme is something like death metal. But I think Slater and Wunderhorse are redefining that with something in between.
Their lyrics are nostalgic, painful, and beautifully written. But their songs aren’t generally slow (some are) or particularly sad sounding. I’m a big fan of that contrast.
Slater did not smile once but you could tell just how much he was enjoying the performance, whether he was screaming at the top of his lungs or jumping and spinning in the air. I loved his energy.
Their music definitely shares similarities with the likes of Radiohead, but even then, it’s a very different sound. I think Wunderhorse really are unique and for that reason amongst others, are on their way to becoming a hugely successful band. So, I feel very fortunate to have seen them at this early stage and so close up as well.
In fact, I was very lucky that I was able to go to this gig at all. I woke up on Thursday (the day before) morning without a ticket. They had been sold out for months but I was absolutely desperate to see this band, so much so that I even got to enjoy several conversations with a range of scarily intelligent scammers through Twitter (I refuse to call it X).
One of them sent me a ticket confirmation which said Friday October 29th, even though Friday was the 27th. But you know, maybe Ticketmaster make a mistake. Another kept messaging me every five minutes to ask if I’d sent the money yet, which is obviously the hallmark of a genuine seller. And my favourite was one who wanted me to send them £10, and then send the rest of the money after I had received the ticket. What I loved about this one was that they went out their way to mention the word ‘scam’ before they even did the deed.
‘Why would I scam you for £10?’ they asked me. Well, if you scam ten people a day for that amount, that’s £36,500 a year purely from scamming. So I could think of a few reasons why, although I would give this one a 2/10 for intelligence instead of the rest (purely for trying something different), who I’d give a generous one.
Anyway, as amusing as these conversations were, I did begin to become quite miserable about not being able to go this gig, especially having had a shitty week (which only could have been made shittier by sending £10 to an internet parasite). For context, I wanted to go with my girlfriend Halle, who got me into Wunderhorse in the first place (which is why it was then too late for me to get a ticket), and she wanted me to go, because otherwise she would be going alone. And as bad as I am, I am arguably better than no one. Arguably.
But out of the blue she told me to stop pissing around with scammers, because she’d found a ticket through a resale on Ticketmaster. Finally, some luck. I should also add that Halle treated me to the ticket, which was, I guess, quite a nice gesture. To say the least.
Anyway, back to the gig. It wasn’t the longest, as Wunderhorse only have one album out, but they did mix it in with unheard material from their new album which is currently being recorded. The songs sounded like a subtle step in a new, heavier direction, but still very much in keeping with what they did in Cub.
What struck me was how passionate and obsessed the fans where when Wunderhorse have only recorded the one album. Jacob Slater was in Dead Pretties before he started this band, so maybe he’s had followers from a few years back, but the crowd screamed along to every song as if they were all long standing indie anthems. In fairness, most of their tracks are good enough to be considered in that light.
It was quite funny when they did play new material, because you could tell simply from the way in which everyone went from screaming to the songs to stone dead silence. But that’s not to say it wasn’t enjoyable, because I can’t wait to hear them when they are released properly.
I loved Teal, Girl Behind The Glass, Butterflies, and my personal favourite is Purple, which they performed as an encore. Purple is definitely a throwback to the 90s with its fast ascending, bright sounding guitar riff (or arpeggio for you music nerds), with its catchy and very well written chorus. The lyrics are intriguing and much darker than the sound of the song. It’s one of those where I couldn’t understand how someone couldn’t enjoy it.
The crowd’s favourite was quite clearly Leader Of The Pack, which has more of a rock feel to it than something like Purple or Girl Behind The Glass. It’s got a heavier riff and Slater uses more distortion with his singing on this one. I can see why it’s their most popular song, and it was incredible live.
On the lead singer’s voice, I think it is so important in making this group sound unique. He has a diverse range of tones which actually showcases a significant level of skill; he can scream, he can use falsetto, but he can also sing in a high register with a more breathy and less ragged style, and in a song like Teal, he will talk on pitch, which is a cool way to make a song stand out. And this isn’t just something he does in the studio; him and the whole band sounded exactly like they do on the record. If anything, Slater was even better live, because he added different bits in, usually a scream out of the blue.
I thought it sounded painful, and he did sound a little hoarse on the next track. Worth it though, because it did blow me away.
Aside from the music, we did notice the band were dressed like everybody in the crowd. Baggy, baggy, baggy. And mullets. Lots of mullets. They were all focussed, very much in the zone, playing as if there wasn’t a crowd there- but not in a bad way. There was something quite atmospheric about it.
The only slight disappointment was that they didn’t play 17, which I guess is one of the less energetic tunes but is also one of their best to me. I thought it might come in the encore, but instead they spent around ten minutes improvising on their instruments (at least I think it was improvisation). Maybe I’m a musical philistine, but I’d have rather had half the time of that, replaced by 17 performed live. After a while, it did feel like one of those moments where the band is having more fun than the crowd.
But that’s only a small thing I would have changed, and something I’ll probably forget about when I think back to this gig in the future. What I will remember is the aura of Jacob Slater and how great the music sounded. I think Wunderhose are destined for huge success and for many reasons, I feel very lucky I got to see them last week.