No-frills but totally thrilling: Wunderhorse live at Brixton Academy
Eardrums pounding. Bar drank dry of beer before the main act even came on. Balcony vibrating under foot. Brixton Academy is back open, and it feels like Wunderhorse has christened it with a huge, good, old-fashioned rock show as proof that what the people want right now is grit and volume.
It feels like the UK, especially, is in the midst of a love affair. Or, more so than that, we’re in the midst of the exciting process of getting back with an ex. It feels thrilling, giddy, and all new again as suddenly the population, en mass, is falling for guitar bands. If we were to rattle off a list of the emerging acts we’re most excited about right now, a fair chunk of them would be rock troupes: Cardinals, Lime Garden, Flat Party. Leading at the top as the current buzzy acts, The Last Dinner Party and Fontaines DC are hitting new heights monthly. And alongside them, there’s Wunderhorse.
From the size of the queue snaked around Brixton Academy, it’s clear that people are paying attention. The band have just had that golden moment where they’ve crossed the line from cultishly beloved to widely known with their new album. Previously, Wunderhorse was the moniker of just Jacob Slater, with his debut album Cub acting as a kind of exorcising of demons as he grappled with recovery and a return to music after the breakdown of his previous band, Dead Pretties.
But now, Wunderhorse is a four-piece unit with the sound of their latest record, Midas, showing a return to form and excitement. It’s clear, across every track, that Slater is keen on being the rock star again. He’s keen on existing within a rock band and going all out with it, as the album is coloured with sounds of Nirvana, The Rolling Stones and a long list of other references from the long history of rock.
From the second they start the show, walking on to Beck’s ‘Loser’ and saying simply “Midas” before diving into the huge title track, the tone is set. What unfolds is a no-frills but completely thrilling rock show in a way that feels refreshing. There are no visuals, no stage dressing at all, and no impressive tricks with the lighting. The band says almost nothing, and what they do is muffled and largely inaudible as their mics are clearly set up for raging vocals, not soft-spoken hellos and thank yous. That says it all, really; this is a show set up for the music, and that’s it. With the latest album being recorded live with all the focus staying on the organic sound of the group, it’s clearly what they do best, so why add in any distractions?
All their energy goes into the songs, and the crowd matches that raw enthusiasm, throwing their arms in the air during the singalong moments of ‘Purple’ or ‘Silver’, or throwing their whole bodies into moshpits for ‘Leader Of The Pack’, ‘Teal’ and the short, sharp yet intense finale of ‘July’. The band throw themselves into it, too, as Slater does Busted-style jumps off the drum platform.
Moments later, Slater literally throws his guitar off the stage and into the hands of his audience. It’s a moment so cool and so charged with the sort of stereotypical rock and roll energy that I genuinely feel my fingers forming into devil’s horns and have to hold myself back from throwing them up in the air or tossing what’s left of my pint across the room.
Shuffling out of the venue, there are panting comments of “that was sick”. And that’s it. There’s nothing critical to add, nothing to analyse or hook onto, no aesthetic choices to ponder, or statements said from the stage to unpack. Wunderhorse gives nothing but a great show.
As our ears ring and necks hurt from banging, and as our organs try to settle down from the hour-long vibrations that have just rattled through our cores from the sheer volume of it all, it feels good to feel such simple, fuss-free excitement. It feels good to engage with rock music at its rawest form again and be amongst a crowd of people clearly yearning for the same thing: music with spirit and energy. Falling back in love feels so good as Wunderhorse take their position as the leader of the pack and handle the role without any bullshit beyond the music and classic excitement of a great rock show.
