Photo Credit: @rorybarnes_
Arriving at 7.30pm the standing area was already packed out as the crowd awaited support band Junodream, we knew already that we were in for a great night with the London-based dream-rock band being the perfect support for the tour playing a mix of acoustic and rock music that is sure to win them over a lot of new fans on the tour. Most of the tracks came from the January 2024 debut album release Pools Of Colour and it was a delightful half-hour set, well it was mostly … a group of lads around us thought it was a good idea to talk all the way through the set slightly spoiling the ambience and it very disrespectful. Best of the set (that we could hear) were Death Drive and Nobody Wants You. 7/10
The lights went down at exactly 9pm as The Waterboys track Don’t Bang The Drum played Wunderhorse on to a thunderous roar, that roar only got louder as opener Midas from the album of the same name sent the venue wild with excitement. Even upstairs everyone was out of their seats immediately and singing along, sometimes the O2 can be a hit and a miss for atmosphere but tonight it was electric. It is hard to believe that Wunderhorse have only been a band since 2020 when Jacob Slater began as a solo project soon adding Harry Fowler (guitar), Seb Byford (bass), Jamie Staples (drums) in 2021 making it a full project. Intertwined between the nine from the Midas album lets not forget the five they played from 2022 debut Cub that a lot of the fans here tonight would demand to hear, Butterflies and Girl Behind The Glass are played early in the set and receive a huge reaction from the crowd while Emily and Girl also hit the spot from the latest release. Leader Of The Pack and Arizona keeps the energy flowing in the crowd, as if they need any encouragement though, tonight proves that Wunderhorse can handle the big crowds judging by the reaction they get.
There was even time for a new track The Rope to be launched to the fanbase here tonight to be released the following week on 2nd June, the crowd response is immediately positive and would have been a surprise inclusion in the set for most. Towards the end of the main set we get to hear two of our stand-out songs Rain and Silver, Jacob Slater is driving the crowd wild with his unique style of guitar playing, looking around the balcony people are having the time of their lives, that’s what the music of Wunderhorse can do to you! The logo behind the band was forever changing colour, some people have described it as a satanic horse, whatever it is it is very eye catching, the main set ends with Superman from the Midas album followed by a huge roar of appreciation for the bands efforts so far. The energy levels during Teal were unreal, it looked like every single person downstairs was jumping up and down with a lot of phones catching every moment, it really is a wonderful moment from the night as just about everyone amongst the two thousand and five hundred fans sing back the lyrics to the band, Jacob Slater even stops singing at one point to listen to the crowd singalong … unreal scenes. It’s back to the Midas album for the last track of the night July giving everyone a final chance to empty the lungs, tonight was eighty minutes of pure joy and we can’t wait for Wunderhorse to be back in Glasgow in July for the TRNSMT Festival.
The UK tour ended at the Alexandra Palace in London where they sold a jaw-dropping ten thousand tickets for what was their biggest show to date. They are now touring in Europe before heading to the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia proving how popular they have become around the globe. Don’t be surprised when they announce an arena tour next time round. 10/10
Written: Alan Brown
