By Sam Frazer
The O2 Academy in Liverpool falls to a subtle darkness and it can only mean one thing: Wunderhorse are about to start. The band’s logo – a devil – lights up in fluorescence, and Judy Garland’s classic ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ fuses into ‘Loser’ by Beck, beckoning out of the speakers. And then there they are, a piercing boom fills the Academy as the joy and delight of nearly 2000 fans eagerly waiting for the band to begin….
When I first saw the tour poster for Wunderhorse all over the UK some part of me melted a little inside. In my time going to music gigs, I haven’t seen a band burst out of nowhere and leave such an impression on people.
Ever since their debut album Cub in 2022, there was always the feeling that they were going nowhere but UP. With critical acclaim by the likes of the NME and Rolling Stone, Wunderhorse feels like one of those bands that just ask youto sit back and observe, as they rise through the ranks of musical stardom.
And yet just over two short years later they embark on a monumental tour showing off their newest (and best yet) album with a few of the classics from Cub that fans have come to adore.
The first song up is the titular track from Wunderhorse’s new album Midas, a punchy, twisted and raucous ballad. It’s a fan favourite and instantly gets the crowd in a full tilt from the softer more sombre notes of the opening act, Highschool. As I look around there isn’t a single person standing still.
And that is what makes Wunderhorse one of Britain’s most promising and exciting new artists, the ability to gain such a following with only two albums, and to have a crowd that is willing and excited to drag themselves out of bed and down to Liverpool on a cold and dreary Monday evening.
The night goes on with a wonderful blend of new songs that fans have had just over a month to come to know (with the band playing them in more intimate settings throughout the country).
If there’s one thing that Wunderhorse do right, it’s their ability to control a crowd, from the more grunge-like, alternative and angry songs like ‘Midas’ and ‘July’, to the softer, extremely heartfelt and passionate tracks like ‘Aeroplane’ and ‘Girl’. The crowd sings every word and the band looks over them in sheer delight – the songs they have poured their heart and soul into are shouted right back at them with a sea of smiling faces and tears dripping down the cheeks of people in utter shock that they are here in this moment, watching this manic energy come from such a newfound band.
But… as much as the sold-out Academy don’t want to believe it… the night is drawing to a close, and the lights dimmed for one more time as one of their more aggressive and manic tracks, ‘Rain’, begins to play. I take what I think is one final look around to soak it all in and immerse myself in this spectacle. A pit forms and my head is thrown about from left to right; it’s hard to believe the same crowd that had people sobbing could form this sort of pandemonium.
And without a word, they are gone – no last song warning, no goodbye. But if there is one thing I have learnt since first seeing Wunderhorse in 2022, they are crowd pleasers, and 2000 people screaming for ‘Teal’ certainly must have awoken something in the band as they are up there again.
‘Teal’ is one of the songs that just makes you appreciate the environment you are in; you can tell by the intense and tempestuous movement on stage that this song is their most passionate.
Wunderhorse are a band that will reach the highest heights in the ranks of music if they persist with what they are doing. It’s nothing complicated: two guitars, a bass, a drumkit and some of the best vocals and lyrics that are around in the UK music scene today.
If you can, you must see Wunderhorse, and I look forward to nothing but new things from them as they perfect their craft. I for one will be proud to say I was down there on a dismal night in Liverpool, amongst 2000 other people belting my heart out to every word.
