With his band Wunderhorse, Jacob Slater has had quite the year. From supporting Irish post-punk poets Fontaines D.C. on tour across the United States and the United Kingdom to their own, entirely sold-out headline tour supporting their debut album ‘Cub’. But for frontman Jacob Slater, it doesn’t just stop there, with Wunderhorse now settled as a four-piece, Slater this week shares his first body of solo work, arriving as Pinky, I Love You.
Album opener, ‘One For The Pigeons’, is a track that Wunderhorse fans will already be familiar with. Originally released as the B-side to the band’s hit single, ‘Teal’, the opener sets the romantic tone for the rest of the album, as Slater softly sings, ‘Your love’s a language beyond words / I just wanna die with you in my arms’.
A stripped-back collection of songs, written in Slater’s Cornish home over several years, that he felt didn’t quite make sense with a band, Pinky, I Love You, enables Slater to showcase his songwriting talents in a safe space separate from his band’s work. The likes of ‘I Do’, and ‘Dead Submarines’ both show off his song-writing dexterity with ease, with the latter thought-provoking as Slater lyrically strolls around the obstacle course that is life.
Picturesque with its lyrics, quietly released single, ‘Kissin’ Booth’ holds some of Pinky, I Love You’s most heartbreaking lines, as Slater sings of betrayal and deceit, ‘Where’s the colour in your face / Something you’d like to tell me darlin’ / Well there’s no need to explain / Cause I know the secret you’ve been hiding / Well I hope you had a good time / Whilst I waited in the hotel room / And I wonder was his mouth just like mine’, with the depth of the emotion embedded deep within the track evident throughout.
Love song ‘Red Balloon’ then has birdsong laced into its backing, adding to this raw, bare-bones feel that Slater has effortlessly created through the five tracks before it, with ‘Untitled’ then a display of Pinky, I Love You at its most passionate – holding another dousing of Slater’s delicate songwriting, more introspective than ever before.
Closing out the album sits a naturally stunning cover of Breakfast At Tiffany’s classic, ‘Moon River’. Initially sung by icon Audrey Hepburn, the classic is given a new lease of life by Slater’s arrangement, slowing the number right down to give something powerful and new.
An album full of emotion, Pinky, I Love You is magnificent and vulnerable. Whilst many of the tracks are just vocal and guitar, Slater wears his heart on his sleeve throughout. Perhaps a therapeutic release for Jacob Slater, Pinky, I Love You’s emotional impact is one that will have a lasting impact on fans old and new.
