Midas by Wunderhorse
Communion
The UK has gone Oasis crazy. News of their re-formation (and the widespread frustration of ticket-hunters) has been huge news for weeks now, bringing with it a wave of 90s British indie nostalgia. By happy accident, Cornish guitar band Wunderhorse released their sophomore LP, Midas, the day before the fated Oasis ticket sale. Appropriately the album harks back to the heyday of Britpop supremacy, but it also provides a welcome reminder that the UK still produces plenty of great indie rock/pop groups. The glories are not all in the past.
Forged in the isolation of Covid lockdowns on the Cornish coast, Wunderhorse began as the solo recording project of frontman Jacob Slater, but they have rapidly developed into one of the UK’s best guitar bands – their first LP, Cub, made many year-end lists in 2022. And Midas emphatically proves this was no fluke.
The opening one-two punch of the title track and recent single Rain showcases the band in free-flowing guitar-pop mode, in harmony with the blueprint laid down with aplomb on their debut. It might have been tempting to continue to plough the same successful furrows, but from here Wunderhorse explore new (if not ground breaking) terrain. From the self-reflective Silver (“I’m just an empty promise with nothing left to say”) to the 80s-inspired, plaintive refrain of Arizona (“where do you go to my love”), Midas satisfies more and more as it unfurls.
But the album really sparkles when it wears its influences on its sleeve. The heavy-hitting grunge of July, Pablo Honey-esque production of Cathedrals and Teenage Fanclub-influenced vocals of Girl build beautifully towards Aeroplane, a closing track presented with such poise and gracefulness that it begs the listener to press play and hear it all over again.
A true oasis of sound.
Matthew Ambrose presents Under The Radar on Tuesday evening at 7pm on Abbey104. Broadcasting on 104.7FM and online at abbey104.com.
