'Music is a sacred space'
The Independent|December 04, 2022
British rock band Wunderhorse's debut album 'Cub' is one of the best of the year. Megan Graye chats with frontman Jacob Slater about his musical heroes, his obsession with surfing, and a growing disillusionment with the modern world
Megan Graye
'Music is a sacred space'

"I've never felt so naked in my whole life," says Jacob Slater, the man behind the reins of rock band Wunderhorse. The Hertfordshire-born frontman is centre stage at his sold-out show at London's Lafayette, 600 pairs of eyes transfixed by him. As he roars through a rollicking set of gritty rock, his face crinkles, his body bucks. Pouring out of him are vignettes of teenage trauma, delivered with a preacher's zeal. He bares his soul; his heart is open.

"It's kind of a relief going on stage every night," he tells me the following day, when we meet in a bar in King's Cross. "It's like this is what I'm supposed to be doing." This is fortunate, given Wunderhorse are currently on the road with Irish rock band Fontaines DC, having previously supported North Shields artist Sam Fender. Both have been enamoured by the band's merging of muddy rock and Nineties-infused grunge.

Wunderhorse's debut album, Cub, released in October, is a coming-of-age future classic, or, as Slater describes it, "connecting the dots from a 17-year-old me, to now". It's a story of growth, healing and forgiveness, with wistful lyrics coming up against buoyant melodies. Listen to the contemplative "Mantis" and the gloomy guitars will remind you of Radiohead. On the woozy, psychedelic "Poppy", there are Stone Roses-style instrumentals that bloom, while the bass lines that glimmer through "Morphine" are pure Lou Reed. Slater's delivery vacillates between a sandpapered rasp and the bruised vulnerability of Elliott Smith. I ask if the process of writin and recording helped him to move on from past experiences: "I fucking hope so!" he says with a laugh.

This story is from the December 04, 2022 edition of The Independent.

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This story is from the December 04, 2022 edition of The Independent.

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