Oozing With Sexiness And Sensitivity: Wunderhorse – ‘Midas’ Review

Words: Ruby Corrigan

Oozing with sexiness and sensitivity, alternative rock band Wunderhorse have solidified themselves as one of the best British bands of this decade with the release of their sophomore album ‘Midas’ at the end of August, and it is arguably one of the best bodies of work I have listened to all year. 

‘Midas’ can only be described as an anthology album, as it is a body of work that explores a multitude of themes, covering all facets of life from love and greed, to desperation and loss. If you have been reading the page for a while you will know that we have been following the releases leading up to this album extremely closely, and both within our team and in the outer spheres of the British music scene, all of the tunes have been extremely highly regarded and have helped propel the band to international fame. In short, if the rest of the tunes on ‘Midas’ sucked, then the band would have had a mighty fall from grace. Yet, in true Wunderhorse style, they have pulled it out of the bag, creating a hypnotically addictive album with absolutely zero skips. 

A highlight on the album for me has to be ‘Emily’. Dangerously sweet, the tune lulls you into a false sense of security with its title and romantic intro – I expected this song to be about a relationship with a girl. However, these illusions were quickly altered as frontman Jacob Slater launched into lyrics depicting a life of dissatisfaction in the 21st century, as reflected in the lyrics:  ‘Dead lines, no sleep / This job is killing me slowly’ and ‘Inside this machinery / Everybody’s crazy’. I particularly love the band’s creative decision to simply repeat ‘Emily’ thrice rather than have another set of complex lyrics for the chorus, as not only does it match the simplicity of the instrumentals, but it also creates a lamenting tone, as if the song was written in mourning – whether that be of someone or something, that we will never know. 

What I love about Wunderhorse’s music is how introspective it is, even if you cannot directly relate to what is being discussed in their lyrics, the band’s combined effort to build mood and atmosphere through instrumentals means that every song of theirs (at least in my experience) has the ability to evoke extreme emotion and sensitivity. An excellent example of this on the album is ‘Superman’. This tune honestly feels so one of a kind, with its gorgeously lengthy instrumental breaks full of atmospheric guitar riffs and sound effects, combined with Jacob Slater’s agonisingly beautiful vocals, ‘Superman’ is one of those songs you listen to when you are angry at the world and need a good cry. This is furthered by poetic lyrics describing the pain of the everyday and feelings of wanting to escape from reality – situations which i wholeheartedly believe everyone has felt at some point in their lives. 

I shan’t reveal too much about the album, as it truly is a delightful collection full of twists, turns and surprises, and I strongly urge everyone to listen to it, at least once, just to fully experience the majesticity that is Wunderhorse.