Wunderhorse have shared their reflective new single ‘Silver’ from their forthcoming second album ‘Midas’.
Opening with crisp guitar chords, ‘Silver’ sees frontman Jacob Slater sing: “Yeah I was crooked from the cradle / I’m a bastard from the start / And I kept some pretty people / In the hollow of my heart,” reflecting on himself.
According to a press release, the song nearly didn’t make it onto ‘Midas’ due to it feeling out of place with the LP. The band – comprised of Slater, guitarist Harry Fowler, drummer Jamie Staples and bassist Pete Woodin – eventually stripped back the song while working in Pachyderm Studios in Minnesota and found its final form.
Speaking about ‘Silver’ in a press release, Slater said: “The song is about that ugly side of yourself that you try to keep a secret, but you know it’s there because it makes your skin crawl sometimes. It gets you places but fucks you up in the process. Everyone has elements of their makeup that they’d rather not admit to or keep locked away and never look at. That’s what ‘Silver’ is about. Kind of.”
Directed by Polocho, the song’s accompanying music video sees Slater sitting inside a dollhouse next to a caged bird while someone peers in through the window. Other motifs that were featured in their previous music videos such as a rocking horse and toy monkey are also seen.
‘Silver’ marks the third single to be released from ‘Midas’ following ‘July’ and its title track. The LP is set for release on August 30 and is available for pre-save / pre-order here.
Previously speaking about the creation of the album, 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.”
‘Midas’ follows 2022’s ‘Cub’. In a four-star review of the album, 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. They are also set to embark on a UK and Ireland tour later this year. Visit here for tickets and check out a full list of tour dates below.
Wunderhorse 2024 live dates are:
JULY
12-14 – TRNSMT Festival, Glasgow
AUGUST
7-11 – Boardmasters Festival, Cornwall
22-25 – Reading and Leeds Festival
OCTOBER
3 – Rock City, Nottingham
4 – O2 Institute, Birmingham
5 – O2 Academy, Bristol
7 – The 1865, Southampton
8 – The Great Hall, Cardiff
10 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
11 – O2 Academy, Oxford
12 – UEA, Norwich
14 – O2 Academy, Liverpool
15 – Barrowland, Glasgow
16 – Vicar Street, Dublin
18 – Becketts Students’ Union, Leeds
19 – Academy, Manchester
20 – NX, Newcastle