Wunderhorse have announced their new album ‘Midas’ and have shared their heavy new single ‘July’.
‘Midas’ is set for release on August 30 via Communion and is available for pre-order / pre-save here. The LP will serve as a follow-up to the band’s breakout debut, 2022’s ‘Cub‘. It was recorded at Minnesota’s Pachyderm Studio (birthplace of Nirvana’s ‘In Utero’ and PJ Harvey’s ‘Rid Of Me’) with producer Craig Silvey (The Rolling Stones, The National).
Speaking about the creation of ‘Midas’ in a press release, frontman and guitarist Jacob Slater said: “When we first went into the studio to make this record, the only thing we were sure about is how we wanted it to sound; very imperfect, very live, very raw; no frills. We wanted it to sound like your face is pressed up against the amplifiers, like you’ve been locked inside the bass drum.”
Wunderhorse ‘Midas’ tracklist is:
1. ‘Midas’
2. ‘Rain’
3. ‘Emily’
4. ‘Silver’
5. ‘Arizona’
6. ‘Superman’
7. ‘July’
8. ‘Cathedrals’
9. ‘Girl’
10. ‘Aeroplane’
Along with the announcement of their second studio album, Wunderhorse have shared their heavly-haunting track ‘July’. Opening with a thrilling screatching noise while Slater sings “My head’s on fire / I’m all out of oxygen / The phone don’t ring / The silence / The silence,” expressing his frustration. The single is filled with gritty guitars and a thunderous drum beat.
‘July’s accompanying visualiser sees various toys and objects such as a Trolls doll, a set of nesting dolls, a toy horse, paper masks, a toy carousel and a small theatre stage be blowtorched and set up in flames in slow motion.
Wunderhouse previously released the album’s title-track, a bluesy tune with crisp guitars and Slater singing in way reminiscent to that of Bob Dylan.
Speaking about the creation of the single ‘Midas’ in a press release, Slater said: “The song was written in a bathtub in Paris, and forgotten about until it resurfaced in Minnesota. Midas is the guy who makes you feel like a pencil stub, all used up and nothing to show for it, but it’s always just business as far as he’s concerned.”
In a four-star review of the band’s debut album ‘Cub’, NME shared: “‘[The album] is a goodbye to the Jacob Slater we previously knew, and a hugely exciting welcome to a songwriter finally becoming himself. You can envisage him making records like this for decades to come.”
Following the success of the album, the four piece graduated from playing in basements and pubs to filling Glastonbury’s Woodsies tent and selling out Kentish Town’s O2 Forum months in advance.
It also saw Wunderhorse gradually and naturally become a fully-formed band – comprised of Slater alongside guitarist Harry Fowler, drummer Jamie Staples and bassist Peter Woodin – leaving the solo era of Slater’s previous “Wunderhorse” behind.
In other news, the band are set for a busy summer with many major festival slots including Reading & Leeds, Boardmasters and TRNSMT, as well as making their festival headline debut at Dot to Dot Festival.
