If you are looking for a polished and flawless album, then look elsewhere. Midas by Wunderhorse is everything apart from polished and flawless, in the best way possible. It almost feels wrong to call it a ‘studio’ album instead of a ‘live’ album.
After the success of their debut, Cub, in 2022, which included little gems like ‘Teal’ and ‘Butterflies’, the group started evolving more and more in a band rather than a Jacob Slater solo project. Midas is, indeed, the result of this transition. Filled with references to something bigger, from wanting to be able to fly and be seen as a saviour in ‘Superman’ to including a black and white photo of a bluebird on the cover of the record, and revealing there is a plane standing by in the backyard in ‘Aeroplanes’, this record aims for something bigger.
Former Dead Pretties’ frontman, Slater, gives this album such energy that the listener is immediately able to realise that it does not follow the debut’s “cookie-cut” tracks and style, as the singer himself describes to NME. Each song on Wunderhorse’s sophomore record is different and more raw than the previous one. The album starts strong with the angry and defiant title track, which sees the frontman laughing in the microphone and almost yelling at the listener, who can’t help but be pulled in straight away.
“Do you feel the rain? / Did it crawl up on your shoulders? / Did it coil around your name?” Slater asks in the first line of the second track and enthralling rock song ‘Rain’, which not only includes some of his best vocals but also some of the best instrumental work. Guitarist Harry Fowler, drummer Jamie Staples, and bassist Pete Woodin give this track their all, especially when it calms down towards the middle before exploding into a great bridge.
In Midas, almost all tracks end on a dragged guitar note, like often happens when playing a live show. This was obviously wanted, as Slater himself told Far Out Magazine: “We wanted to get away from the production on the first record and make it a bit more like an accurate representation of how we sounded live.” It is rare to encounter such a raw example of pure agreement and understanding among four people; how sometimes there will be slight mistakes in songs, missed beats or notes, yet everything still sounds so cohesive and intentional.
Speaking about cohesive, the next track – ‘Emily’ – is one of the standout songs on this album. The dichotomy between this third track and the fourth – ‘Silver’, which was also a single – is one of the load-bearing columns on Midas. They both carry a similar vibe; ominous, mysterious, but also comforting and earnest. Like when Slater calls for the name “Emily” in almost a whisper before the band bursts up in a bridge with pounding drums and roaring guitars. ‘Silver’, in a kindred way, starts off in a style similar to Death Cab for Cutie, with a clean sound that keeps growing until it finally reaches a peak, when Jacob screams “You’re mine, bluebird!” in a scratching tone. The significance of “bluebird” is varied – it both indicates wanting to be freed, but also that the object of the song is rare and in need of protection. Here, Slater sings of something that needs to be let go but that is vulnerable at the same time.
Just days before the release of the full album, Wunderhorse also published their last single: ‘Arizona’. Between the warm lyrics and the engulfing guitars and drums, the backing vocals are the true star of this song. Compared to the rest of the album, the fifth track is the closest we will get to the debut Cub, thanks to the reverberated guitars and loop-like structure. These lyrics are also the best on the whole record, showing a whole new side to the indie quartet, one filled with poetical inspiration and soft imagery, such as the heartbreaking visual of being “woven into the verses of this broken lullaby.”
Wunderhorse showcased their capability in pulling at heartstrings through songs like ‘Purple’ in their first album, but nothing beats ‘Superman’. It is a beautiful, stripped-back, and simple track, but it leaves the biggest mark. As the lyrics narrate a deep and introspective battle about not being understood, Slater sings with resignation in his voice, almost as if he knows that he is singing more to himself rather than the rest of the universe. He wants to show his friends and family that he’s changed, that he has a “power” inside of him, as he imagines himself flying above the clouds wishing he could “show them / the things I can do / and how I saved the world”. We see another flying metaphor here, this one being the most powerful of them all: from wanting to spread his arms and comparing himself to “an eagle, a beautiful bird”, it is clear that the frontman has put himself in a very vulnerable position to tell this story. There is something very brave about being misunderstood.
It is hard to get back on track after such an intimate moment on a record, but Wunderhorse decided to do it in the most theatrical way imaginable. As ‘July’ starts playing, the listener is re-transported immediately to the original context of the record: chaos and authenticity. In what feels like an in-person session, this song fills the missing space that was left in the record with full-on guitar riffs and screams of “I’m ready to die”. This song would work better in a live setting, that being an audience of thousands of people or someone’s garage.
Garage and rock would be the best genre to describe the next two tracks – ‘Cathedrals’ and ‘Girl’ – with the former being almost an homage to bands like The Cranberries and U2 and the latter being the perfect testament to coming-of-age soundtracks and the indie genre, thanks to its wavering chord progressions and majorly upbeat tone. After a series of darker tunes, it is great to be welcomed with a song reminiscent of the Beach Boys.
However, that light feeling quickly dissipates as Midas’ closing track starts playing. With a jazzy drum rhythm and recurring piano and guitar combination, ‘Aeroplane’ steals the listener’s heart with its almost uncomfortable honesty and rawness. It is a nearly 9-minute long song, which only at the end opens up slightly with the addition of reverberated guitar sounds. It is hard to keep the focus on such a long track, but Wunderhorse do an amazing job with their storytelling abilities. With lyrics that evoke the styles of Bob Dylan and Bon Iver, Slater begs “Don’t leave me behind” towards the end of the song.
Throughout the record, metaphors referring to flying are a common theme – the famous red thread which connects it all. ‘Superman’, ‘Aeroplane’, and the repeated reference to a “bluebird” in ‘Silver’ are just some of the examples. In Midas, Slater and co take the listener on a journey that includes flying and the sky as pillars of the record, and Wunderhorse are indeed ready to soar. Sometimes you do not need to save the world to be remembered, like Slater expresses in ‘Superman’. Sometimes you only need a guitar, a microphone and four friends in the same room.
Words by Silvia Pellegrino
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