O2 Academy Oxford, 11th October 2024
Naysayers have been saying for years (decades, even) that rock and roll is dead. However, they need not look further than the O2 Academy in Oxford last Friday night to be proven wrong. The venue’s main room is packed to the rafters, and what’s more, the average age is only around 18. The main act tonight is, of course, alternative rock up-and-comers Wunderhorse. The atmosphere is thick with anticipation from the eager crow: from people eagerly singing their songs to wearing their merch to some even sporting a mullet like frontman Jacob Slater’s, there’s a real sense of devotion from the young crowd.
Once the fourpiece do make their entrance, the crowd erupts, with people squeezing up against each other to get a closer look at the band. Donning a dark pair of shades, Slater looks the part of an enigmatic leader of a rock-and-roll cult. Wasting no time, ‘Midas’, the lead single off their eponymous second album, opens the set. ‘Midas’ may have only come out five months ago, but judging by the reception it receives, it is a staple rock song in the making. The next song is ‘Butterflies’ from Cub, Wunderhorse’s debut album and originally a solo project for Slater. Although Cub is far more pristine and polished than its follow-up, the live rendition is much rawer and demanding of the crowd’s reception.
The band bounce off this energy, and soon enough, everyone in the room – including Wunderhorse – is eagerly jumping and moving side to side
‘Girl’ and ‘Cathedrals’ receive an equally exuberant reception, and at this point, the band is in full swing. Harry Fowler’s roaring guitar pairs beautifully with Jamie Staples’ furious drumming, and Pete Woodin’s mechanical bass provides a bed for Slater’s signature growl.
The bluesy ‘Leader of the Pack’ is a definite highlight, as is its follow-up, ‘Arizona’. Both songs are amongst Wunderhorse’s best, and the crowd breaks into a frenzy as soon as they start. The band bounce off this energy, and soon enough, everyone in the room – including Wunderhorse – is eagerly jumping and moving side to side.
The set barely comes in at an hour, and the band play only twelve songs
The epic, near-nine-minute ‘Aeroplane’ provides a rare moment of respite, which follows into ‘Girl Behind the Glass’. Breaking the crowd out of their reverie, Slater then jokingly proclaims, “This is ‘Espresso’ by Sabrina Carpenter”. He dives right into ‘Purple’, decidedly not ‘Espresso’ by Sabrina Carpenter, but instead one of the songs that initially earned Wunderhorse their spot at the forefront of the contemporary rock landscape. Although throughout most of the show Slater, like the rest of the band, maintain their cool, collected image, Slater allows himself to simply appreciate the crowd and take in the moment as all 1150 people sing back the earworm of a chorus.
Absent from the set is ‘Superman’, a devastating song about unfulfilled potential. Although the band have not been playing it on every show this tour, its disappearance does not go unnoticed, making the ending to the main set a tad anticlimactic.
The encore also feels slightly disappointing. Although ‘July’ is supposed to close the show, a packed touring schedule leaves Slater’s voice worn out and unable to perform the unhinged wails and cries the song calls for. This leaves ‘Teal’ as the last song on the set. And although they don’t play ‘July’, ‘Teal’ still makes the crowd’s energy climax in unanimous chants as people sing along to its exhilarating verses. There is a collective groan as Wunderhorse leave without having performed ‘July’, but murmurs of appreciation can be heard as the sweaty and buzzing crowd spills out onto the street.
Wunderhorse’s show at the O2 Academy in Oxford is an interesting one. On one hand, there is the electric excitement of a genuine rock-and-roll band receiving their well-deserved laurels from the next generation of rock lovers, but on the other, it feels incomplete. The set barely comes in at an hour, and the band play only twelve songs. Although they cannot be blamed for not playing ‘Superman’ and ‘July’ – whatever the reasons may be – Wunderhorse have two albums, and Slater has a full-length solo project (Pinky, I Love You), so their time on stage feels woefully underused. The show’s short duration aside, Wunderhorse are still at the forefront of an exciting wave of new rock artists, and they’re definitely one to watch in the coming years.
Words and photos: Sophie Flint Vázquez
TrueStyleMusic 