WUNDERHORSE

This generational group has weathered change to become one of the UK's hottest bands. Here, frontman Jacob Slater reflects on the past, and the new music to come

- By NICK REILLY

'I can remember just kind of looking out over the crowd. It’s such a big room and it’s quite dark in there,” recalls Wunderhorse leader Jacob Slater of the band’s sold-out showat Alexandra Palace earlier this year.

“My memory is of scanning the crowd all the way to the back, looking up, and there’s that crazy stained-glass window at the back of the venue. It was still quite bright outside, and you had the last of the light coming through that window and shining down on the crowd. The result was like a weird celestial vision or something. There was something religious about it.”

It’s an apt vision, given that Wunderhorse have spent the past year on the kind of upward trajectory that has left many wondering whether they’re going to become the next great higher power of rock music. An unstoppable 12 months and the tantalising promise of where they could head next are the precise reason why Wunderhorse are worthy winners of The Group Award at the ZYN Rolling Stone UK Awards 2025.

But with an acclaimed second album and sold-out shows under their belt, it might have been difficult for Slater to stop and take stock. “Over the last couple of years, I’ve really learned to try and doa bit more in real time, which helps when you're trying to take things in,” the singer explains. “I’m not one for talking too much on stage, but the thing that it does is give you a moment to take in what’s actually happening. So that’s what I’ve tried to do over the last year at shows like Glastonbury or Ally Pally. To just breathe for aminute and look at it, so your brain will take a photograph, and you have this visual memory, and it doesn’t become a blur.”