How Wunderhorse became our band of the year
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 show at 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 do a 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 a minute and look at it, so your brain will take a photograph, and you have this visual memory, and it doesn’t become a blur.”
This journey of the past year began in the summer of 2024, when the group released Midas, their incredible second album which we hailed as the sound of a band “that could become generational”. A major part of that record’s appeal was its ability to eschew polished production for something that felt scrappy, raw and genuine. The title track, for instance, was laid down after producer Craig Silvey left the tape running for what the band believed would be a take too unpolished for the final cut. In the end, it was this unfiltered version – recorded in the same Minnesota studio where Nirvana laid down In Utero – that made the grade.
In deciding to take a warts-and-all approach, Wunderhorse have landed on something that evokes the sound of classic guitar bands, all while delivering their own thrilling sound that has put them on a trajectory towards becoming one of the great groups of their own era. It’s all the more remarkable when you consider that in many ways, Midas was the first proper group album and an attempt to move away from the idea that Slater – formerly of the Dead Pretties – had just launched a solo project.
“The first record was under Wunderhorse and was a band record in many ways,” Slater told us last year. “But at the same time, there were these moments where it was just me sitting in a room writing alone, whereas this feels like the first Wunderhorse record as a band. It’s strange in that sense. It feels like us. The last record was a collection of songs from one person, whereas this feels like a time stamp and a really authentic representation of how we were all feeling at the time.”
Twelve months on, there’s the sense that Wunderhorse have become a proper unit during their famously frenetic live shows.
“When you’re playing live every night, people find their space up there and only they can occupy it. Harry [Fowler] guitarist and Jamie [Staples] aren’t just taking up room. The spot they’re standing in is truly theirs, which is a brilliant thing because I wouldn’t want anyone to feel like they were passive and playing along. I want people to feel like they have some ownership of the songs when we’re all playing them together, you know.”
But at the same time, there’s been change afoot. Earlier this year saw the departure of bassist Pete Woodin after seven years, with Seb Byford taking his spot. Slater admits that it could have rocked the boat with big shows looming, but they managed to navigate the chaos as they headed to Ally Pally and later Glastonbury.
“There’s always slight uncertainty with something like that because I’ve known Seb a long time, but there’s the worry that the chemistry might not be there. We were very fortunate because Seb [fitted] right in, and he could step up to the plate right away. Ally Pally was just the third show he played with us. He did really well, and that chemistry continued throughout the year. It’s important nowadays that bands can have that kind of support for each other on the road when things go awry.”
Instead, Byford’s arrival came at the start of a glorious summer. Ally Pally was first, and then a triumphant set on Glastonbury’s Park Stage followed it. It’s worth seeking out footage of that festival set as a reflection of just how revered the band are, especially as a to-capacity crowd scream every word of the anthemic ‘Teal’ from their first album back at them.
“It’s weird, but my memory of Glastonbury is just the smell of the flares,” reflects Slater of the no-pyro-no-party mantra that clearly followed them down on Worthy Farm. “That fireworks-type smell. A lot of people hate it, but the wind was blowing our way, and I just remember the stink of it and all the colours. A lot of people might hate that, but I think it’s nice to see people still using flares. You’d have thought that some boring fuck in the modern age would have outlawed them.” (We’re pretty confident that flares aren’t allowed at Glastonbury, but it certainly speaks volumes of the devotion shown towards this band that a fan was willing to smuggle one in…)
So, what’s next for the winners of The Group Award? Is new music on the horizon?
“I’m just trying to reacquaint myself with some new and different creative processes,” says Slater. “I’ve got some idea of what we’re going to do next, but I’m wary of getting tunnel vision for that too early and blocking out things that might naturally filter in. I’m just off tour and getting back into using my own time in a way that makes me feel sort of stimulated.”
And besides, a hectic touring schedule hasn’t been conducive to writing new material either.
“I wanna be in a space where I can create something again and disappear into a world, which is quite difficult when you’re this weird organism of 16 people that are moving around the world. It’s quite hard to find your own little niche in that, or at least it is for me.”
He adds: “But it is starting to take shape, and I won’t say too much because sometimes you think you know how it’s gonna be and then it turns out totally different. But yeah, there’s definitely the sketch of something coming together, which is good.”
And when it does, we’re of no doubt that the, please forgive us, Midas touch of this special band will come good again…