Fishnets, Dr Martens, black sunglasses and leather jackets. This was the scene inside the O2 Brixton Academy while waiting for Wunderhorse to take to the stage for their sold-out London tour date. The atmosphere was cheerful and relaxed, while also buzzing and ecstatic. While the pre-show playlist did not really entice strong reactions, the openers HighSchool warmed the crowd up for what would be an incredibly enthralling show.
As the openers performed their last song – a cover of the song ‘My Pal’ by Australian band God – chattering became louder and pint glasses became emptier, as security started giving out plastic cups of water to the overfilled and overexcited pit. Even if Wunderhorse were 15 minutes late to the stage, the notes of Judy Garland’s ‘Over The Rainbow’ created a beautiful and communal atmosphere. While the band’s iconic logo was being lowered in front of a white curtain in the background, the crowd went absolutely crazy.
Frontman Jacob Slater and co. walked in front of the audience and the first notes of ‘Midas’ started playing, despite there being some mixing mishaps at first. However, the band recovered quickly and rode the high of the singalongs with Slater’s signature screams. “No sunglasses this time” is the first thing that came to mind as the four-piece group from Newquay appeared, and part of me wonders if it was because they really wanted to take in the 4,500 people before them.
The lack of accessories, though, did not translate into a lack of flair. Between one split jump and another, Wunderhorse swiftly moved through their setlist, performing newer tunes such as ‘Cathedrals’ from their latest album Midas and deeper cuts like ‘Girl Behind the Glass’ from their impressive debut, Cub.
But what kind of post-punk gig would it be if things didn’t go wrong at least once? Indeed, right before playing the upbeat ‘Silver’, Jamie Staples’s drums broke, and Slater joked that it wouldn’t be “fun” if nothing failed. Indeed, earlier in the year, the frontman confessed to The Guardian that “chaos” is a constant in their mindset: “We like it when things go wrong. When Jamie’s snare drum breaks or the amps cut out, there’s this moment where you want to disappear. But then you realise – this is where the magic happens.”
The guitar-focused group took this unforeseen hitch in the road as an opportunity to make their oldest fans happy, as Jacob decided to grab his guitar and perform, basically acapella, one of the songs from his solo album Pinky, I Love You: ‘One for the Pigeons’. As the crowd had the chance to regain their breath with this acoustic break, Slater announced that he “lost” his in-ears, meaning that the fans had to help him with the next song. ‘Purple’ started playing and it felt as if the crowd became one. “There’s nowhere I can go”, the singer wailed at the audience, in a slightly sped-up version of the gorgeous ballad.
The rest of the band’s interactions were not very notable, with a smile here and a “thank you” there, with Wunderhorse’s frontman walking closer to the edge of the stage occasionally. But this did not feel detached, or alienating. Instead, it felt and looked like a young band who were excited and nervous to play such a big crowd for the first time on a sold-out tour, with a hint of incredulity in the mix as well.
All the nerves melted away when Wunderhorse performed the iconic ‘Rain’, adding an almost 2-minute-long guitar solo before the song’s bridge, making it even more electric. “Do you feel the rain?” Slater asks, while also calling for people to crowd-surf and open up mosh pits. The view of the crowd was almost surreal: people on shoulders, beer glasses flying, circular pits opening and people being pulled out of the crowd because it was too rowdy. Alongside a couple of technical errors along the way, this is what a true post-punk concert should entail: chaos.
But everyone knows that after chaos, there is always calm – at least momentarily. One of the highest peaks of the whole concert was when Slater picked up the microphone, threw his guitar strap around his shoulder and walked right to the edge of the stage, just as the first notes of the slow, raw and cinematic ballad ‘Superman’ echoed in the venue. For the first half of the song, Jacob sang with his eyes closed, almost reciting the lyrics to himself in a stream of consciousness, while the crowd accompanied him. For the second half of the song, the frontman put his microphone back and delivered one of the best vocal performances he has ever delivered.
While many in the crowd were wiping their tears away, Wunderhorse walked off the stage, getting ready for the two-song encore. This was the moment everyone had been waiting for: ‘Teal’. As their most known single, recently viral on TikTok as well, the crowd was understandably excited for it. The renowned guitar intro began and people started jumping and truly letting their hair down. As the Cub single progressed, the band was visibly chuffed with the loud singalong it led to. “One of them said ‘I don’t care if this kills you’ / but what if it did, Katie? / What if it killed her?” Jacob roared, and every single person in the crowd erupted in cheers and screamed the lyrics, as the rhythm became even more thumping. It certainly is impressive for a relatively small band, with only two records, to gain such a cohesive and supportive fanbase in so little time. This is what makes Wunderhorse a band to keep an eye on.
Flashing lights were blinding for a moment, as Jacob started playing the ominous and almost-threatening guitar intro of ‘July’ while barking at the crowd (yes, barking like a dog. So post-punk). Once again, the frontman’s vocal range showed its versatility, truly morphing into a pseudo alter ego who was “ready to die”, wondering “why the f***” he “should keep up appearances”. As the track came to an end, Slater growled in the mic as he kneeled down on stage with his head in his hands while his bandmates left the stage. Before totally walking off, in a spur-of-the-moment action, he decided to gift his guitar to a member of the public, showcasing the ultimate detachment to material things and the total dedication to the rock-n-roll craft.
Even if security did ask for the guitar back at the end, almost breaking that bubble of astonishment, Wunderhorse have really gone above and beyond, from the musical skills showcased to the stage presence. Being able to handle an imperfect show with such distinct and enthusiastic energy is not in everyone’s chords, and it shows that this small post-punk band has all that it takes to become the next big thing. After all, they made 4,000 people look and sound like a sold-out stadium with such ease it felt almost natural.
Words by Silvia Pellegrino
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