Live at Leeds Beckett SU
It’s Saturday 19th October and Leeds City Centre is buzzing; a great night for the music community, with eager gig-goers spoilt for choice. The options are Alice Cooper playing at the Arena, The Blossoms playing at the O2 Academy and Wunderhorse at Leeds Beckett Student Union.
Fierce competition for Wunderhorse, who find themselves playing in the smallest of the three venues, though the Wunderhorse ticket was by far the most sought-after in the City. The desperate touts circling like vultures at the sold-out Beckett SU were a testament to this. Compared to the old rocker Alice Cooper and indie veterans The Blossoms.
Wunderhorse are undoubtedly a band in the ascendance. As the lights dimmed at the Leeds Beckett SU, there was a collective sense of privilege, it was a privilege that came with the knowledge that this tour would likely mark the end of Wunderhorse’s tenure of playing at this size of venue. It felt like the only gig to be at, a show that had been sold out for months, and for me at least, one of the most anticipated of the year.
This was not my first time experiencing the band, having caught a glimpse of Wunderhorse while they were supporting Fontaines DC. I had already witnessed the band’s dreamlike haze and the devilish grit of frontman Jacob Slater’s vocals. Yet, the band didn’t feel fully fledged, something made evident by the well-rounded performance of headliners Fontaines DC.
Fast forward two years and I am at the front of the crowd watching the same band deliver a complete performance. Wunderhorse came flying out of the traps, with their first single, and title track from their new album, Midas. This was followed by ‘Butterflies’ from the outfit’s debut album CUB, which sounded as bewitching as ever. Next came a hat-trick of new material, the soft heart-on-your-sleeve grunge of ‘Emily’, the wailing guitars and infectious vocal hooks of ‘Girl’, and the beautiful juxtaposition of rough and smooth which is ‘Cathedrals’ all drenched in American grunge and psych rock that has been missing from the British alternative scene for decades. The band controlled the energy of the crowd, the room in the palm of their hand.
A personal highlight was the incredible Stone Roses style breakdown which preceded anthem ‘Leader of the Pack’. New tracks ‘Rain’, and ‘Arizona’ were the proverbial matches that ignited the SU, with the crowd bouncing wall to wall and the formation of a mosh pit worthy of any great rock performance. A brilliant encore featured favourite ‘Teal’ and the beautifully bitter, grunge-infused ballad ‘July’. The band dominated a stage which looked too small for their newly -polished act.
The band had grown immensely since I last saw them, banishing any imposter syndrome they may have felt completely with the success of their second album. Midas had undoubtedly added a lyrical uppercut to their performance and through the transpirational power of American grunge, they have found a further dimension to their sound. There was a sense of electricity in the SU which stemmed from the idea that us lucky individuals were at the start of the band’s journey and this gig was going to be part of something much bigger.
Having witnessed the meteoric rise of Fontaines DC over the past five years, there seems a sudden appetite for other mainstream alternative rock acts. After Wunderhorse’s heroic performance, I believe them to be the number one contender to follow in Fontaines footsteps. As the band left the SU stage to the raptures of the crowd, one thing was clear in my mind,
Wunderhorse were up next.
