Wunderhorse - Cub

Wunderhorse’s Jacob Slater has already lived many lives; not least playing Sex Pistols’ Paul Cook in the recent TV series PISTOL and fronting the over-before-they-began Dead Pretties in a haze of debauchery. Somewhat accordingly, ‘Cub’ sounds more the work of a wizened troubadour than a twenty-something’s debut album: if it were to be revealed as an unreleased work from the post-Britpop comedown in the late ‘90s, doubtful anyone would bat a solitary eyelid. It’s that decade to which the record owes most, from the baggy guitars of ‘Poppy’ to the Pixies-esque ‘woo-ooh’ of ‘Mantis’ via ‘Purple’, which sounds like it’s from a lost film soundtrack of the same era. ‘Leader of the Pack’ somehow marries ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and Suede’s ‘Filmstar’, whilst ‘The Girl Behind The Glass’ possesses Ash-like building guitars and a chorus melody that’s so familiar it’s frustrating. Which is all to say, ‘Cub’ is a comforting, accomplished listen.