The big releases you need to hear from the week ahead.
‘Midas’ may not transform everything it touches into gold, but in creating an album this raw, this honest, this vital, Wunderhorse have struck a rich vein indeed.
Words: Dan Harrison.
In an industry that often prizes polish over grit, Wunderhorse’s ‘Midas’ arrives like a defiant howl from the depths of a Minnesota recording studio. The second album from Jacob Slater and his band of merry noisemakers doesn’t so much push against the tide of overproduction as it does gleefully surf atop a wave of deliberate imperfection. Wunderhorse began as Slater’s solo venture after the dissolution of his previous outfit, Dead Pretties. A retreat to the Cornish coast as the world shut down provided the backdrop for a transformation, with Slater emerging not as a polished pop prince, but as the ringleader of a raw, uncompromising rock outfit.
The band’s 2022 debut ‘Cub’ served as a promising opening salvo, but ‘Midas’ sees Wunderhorse truly coming into their own. The addition of guitarist Harry Fowler, drummer Jamie Staples, and bassist Pete Woodin has evolved Slater’s vision into a fully realised collective force, one that seems to revel in the electricity of live performance.
An emphasis on capturing lightning in a bottle is evident from the moment the needle drops on ‘Midas’. The title-track, a snarling beast, was reportedly captured on its third-ever run-through. “That energy then became the blueprint for the record,” Staples reveals, setting the tone for an album that feels less like a careful studio construction and more like stumbling upon the world’s most exciting rehearsal.
Recording at Pachyderm Recording Studios in Minnesota – hallowed ground that once hosted the likes of Nirvana and PJ Harvey – was no accident. Under the guidance of Grammy-winning producer Craig Silvey, Wunderhorse set about channelling the ghosts of rock past while firmly planting their flag in the present.
Such an approach came with its share of nail-biting moments. “People were asking me, ‘You know, all this money is being spent on going to America to record. Have you got the ideas ready?’” Slater admits. “Yeah, yeah, I’m full of ideas! Meanwhile, I’m lying awake at night…”
The result is an album that crackles with an energy rarely captured on record. Lyrically, Slater doesn’t shy away from the darker corners of the psyche. “The songs come from a place of feeling a bit cast aside by the modern world,” he explains. “I don’t want to get too fucking deep, but I’ve always thought that a lot of elements of people’s humanity, the things that make us who we are, get left on the scrap heap a bit. That’s where these songs live, on that scrap heap of forgotten stuff. The broken stuff.”
An embrace of the broken and discarded extends to the band’s recording philosophy. While digital tools allow for the creation of pristine, airless recordings, Wunderhorse have opted for a decidedly analogue approach. “If you want something strange, something uncomfortable that makes people sit up, then you’ve got to feel uncomfortable doing it too,” Slater asserts.
The ethos carries over to their live performances, where the band consciously leaves room for improvisation and unexpected detours. “We love the gigs, but there’s always a danger that playing the songs we care about so much would gradually become a chore,” Slater muses. “Not that it has, but to keep that from happening, you need to introduce an element where no one knows what’s going to happen, not even us.”
A commitment to keeping things fresh and unpredictable has served Wunderhorse well. Their upcoming tour sees them graduating to larger venues, including London’s O2 Academy Brixton. It’s a significant step up, but one gets the sense that no matter how big the stages grow, Wunderhorse will always bring a touch of that raw, unpolished energy that defines ‘Midas’.
The album’s closer, ‘Aeroplane’, serves as a fitting denouement. Sprawling across nine minutes, it’s a reflective, expansive piece that showcases the band’s ability to build and sustain atmosphere. It’s the sound of a group confident enough in their abilities to let a moment breathe, to see where the music takes them without forcing a conclusion.
In creating ‘Midas’, Wunderhorse have tapped into something primal and vital. The album serves as a reminder of rock’s power to move and challenge, to comfort and confront. Rather than opt for the sanitised and risk-averse, ‘Midas’ stands as a testament to the enduring appeal of music that dares to show its rough edges.
‘Midas’ may not transform everything it touches into gold, but in creating an album this raw, this honest, this vital, Wunderhorse have struck a rich vein indeed. It’s the sound of a band not just making music, but making their mark.
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