Wunderhorse – Cub
Wunderhorse’s debut album Cub isn’t interested in subtlety—it wants to bruise, drift, and glow all at once. Fronted by former Dead Pretties frontman Jacob Slater, the band channels the emotional gut-punch of early 2000s Brit-rock while carving out a new lane: heavier, more reflective, and less beholden to flash. If Cub feels like a throwback, it’s only because Slater knows how to build from what’s broken.
Sound & Production: Raw Containment
The guitars on Cub are huge—but never bloated. There's a live-to-tape honesty in the production that captures grit without drowning in fuzz. Think early Radiohead, The Bends-era, crossed with the tension of Nirvana’s 4In Utero.
Songs like “Teal” and “Poppy” burn slow before cracking open into full distortion. Others, like “Leader of the Pack,” arrive fully formed, snarling and unafraid. The dynamic range across the record is earned—not just loud/quiet, but layered with restraint.
Vinyl pressings of Cub benefit from this contrast: there’s real warmth in the mastering, and the textured lows of the rhythm section are given room to bloom.
Lyrical Approach: Damage, Distance, Detail
Slater sings like someone trying to explain what pain feels like after it’s already left a scar. His lyrics are filled with worn metaphors—roads, weather, teeth—but they never feel stale. There’s a confessional streak to tracks like “17” and “Butterflies” that land closer to grunge elegy than indie posturing.
Musicality & Influence: Brit Rock Through a Lo-Fi Filter
While Cub wears its influences openly—Nirvana, Jeff Buckley, early Arctic Monkeys—it never feels derivative. There’s a patient hand in the arrangements, and a willingness to let moments sit in silence or static.
“Purple” borders on shoegaze. “Midas” brushes close to slowcore. But it’s Slater’s voice—uneven, emotive, resolute—that ties it all together.
The band itself plays like a unit with just enough imperfection to feel human. It’s polished, but not pristine. Cub is a record that breathes through the mistakes it keeps.
Final Verdict: A Debut That Cuts Deep and Holds On
Wunderhorse doesn’t need to announce themselves. They just exist—in smoke, in rain, in distortion. Cub is a debut that lands fully formed, both immediate and slow-burning, filled with enough presence to mark a beginning and enough wear to suggest they’ve been here a while.
It’s rare to find a new record that feels this lived-in.
Best Tracks: “Teal,” “Poppy,” “17,” “Midas”
For Fans Of: Jeff Buckley, early Muse, Radiohead, Shame, Palace
