SPILL LIVE REVIEW: WUNDERHORSE @ THE BUTTON FACTORY, DUBLIN (IRELAND)

WUNDERHORSE

@ THE BUTTON FACTORY, DUBLIN (IRELAND)

OCTOBER 28, 2023

The excitement was palpable at The Button Factory for a large crowd was already packed to the front for the support act, Basht., a young and emerging Dublin-based band that formed in November of 2021. They supported Wunderhorse in their last Dublin show back in April 2023 at the Workman’s Club. As expected, they were in top form, commanding the crowd with their new wave inspired sound.

Before Wunderhorse hit the stage, the energy was electric for it felt as though the crowd couldn’t contain their excitement. They started their set with “Girl Behind the Glass”, a song that appears on their debut album released in October 2022, Cub, and the crowd was immediately engaged, singing and hanging onto each word Jacob Slater has managed to craft through his unique poetry.

Wunderhorse are infamous for filling their setlist with unreleased tracks, and “Midas” is a good example. It has become a fan favorite; even the unreleased songs were sung along to by fans. The setlist flowed to “Rain”, another unreleased song. The new songs are fresh, energetic, and new while remaining authentic to the sound that Wunderhorse has crafted in their first album, Cub, and two singles.

The crowd sang along loudly, amongst other fans in the sold-out show, for their words resonated with the audience, and connected to something so profound, and something so incredibly human. Not only are they skilled and talented musicians, but they were also able to convey such profound meanings in their songs, true artists.

The pit opened for “Leader Of The Pack”, and many were dragged in, linking arms with friends and dancing with other fans that also knew every single word. The crowd was kind and warm, catching those around them when people would fall, truly enjoying the fact that we were all packed into a venue, enjoying music that connected us all, rare to have this high intensity of an audience. They closed the set with “Superman”, before promptly returning to the stage for a two-song encore; “Purple” and “Poppy”.

Wunderhorse is a band that has already established itself as one of UK’s greatest, despite only releasing their debut album in October 2022. Not only do they seem to be on a never-ending tour that included festival dates in the summer, Jacob Slater released a solo record, Pinky, I Love You, in August of this year. Wunderhorse is a band that is worth seeing, for they are more than just a great live band, they are artists. Seeing them sell out the Button Factory with younger fans that knew every single word was special, for it is clear that their music means something profound and speaks to something deep within each of us.

(Additional Contributions: Linda Badgley)

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