Wunderhorse have kicked off their 2026 North American tour dates and broken out two new songs: ‘Kerosene’ and ‘Promises’.
The British rockers kicked off their first headline shows of the year at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC last week (July 23), as part of their ongoing tour of North America. To start their 15-song setlist, they broke out the title track from their second album ‘Midas’, before playing back-to-back renditions of ‘Butterflies’, ‘Emily’, ‘Girl’, ‘Cathedrals’ and more.
Around halfway through the set, they treated fans to a first look at a brand new, currently unreleased song called ‘Promises’. The track carries a stripped back yet quietly powerful feeling throughout, with frontman Jacob Slater focusing on themes of betrayal, doubt and inner conflict.
“Promise me you’ll take all of it/ keep it in a thousand miles/ twist this cruise and tell her that I have darkest snakes and lies,” he appears to sing in the intense, broody chorus, with other lyrics including “It’s just a little rain” and “But far away, the fear shows”.
Debut of NEW SONG ‘Promises’ live in Washington DC last night ‼️
🎥 emilyontours via TikTok pic.twitter.com/u0XWMXQGEv
— wunderhorse HQ (@wunderhorsehq) July 24, 2026
After follow-up performances of ‘Silver’ and ‘Arizona’, Wunderhorse broke out another new song called ‘Kerosene’, which sees them take on a much heavier, more charismatic and confident sound than ever before.
“It’s time to go/I know you can dance because I’ve seen it/ I’ve seen you by the water with an angel,” the frontman croons during the track, with the sound taking inspiration from ‘90s grunge and also having nods to punk.
With the clip being shared on social media, fans have also been commenting on the sound of the upcoming tracks, with many noting similarities to Queens Of The Stone Age on ‘Kerosene’, as well as a similarity to Slater’s old band Dead Pretties, which leaned into a much more punk sound than Wunderhorse.
debut of NEW SONG ‘Kerosene’ in Washington DC last night ‼️
🎥 emilyontour via TikTok pic.twitter.com/Go33nrKfmU
— wunderhorse HQ (@wunderhorsehq) July 24, 2026
Kerosene live debut snippet!
byu/Monkeyinasack inwunderhorse
Since that show in Washington DC to launch the 2026 tour, Wunderhorse have played in Brooklyn, Boston and Philadelphia, and continued to break out the two new tracks at each date. They are now set to play at The Phoenix Concert Theater in Toronto tomorrow (Thursday July 30), before playing at Osheaga Festival on Friday (July 31).
As for dates on the other side of the pond, the band will top the bill at this year’s edition of Sheffield’s Rock N Roll Circus on Saturday August 29. It’ll mark just one of two outdoor UK shows for Jacob Slater and co. this year, ahead of them supporting Twenty One Pilots at All Points East 2026.
For the Steel City show, they will be joined by Baxter Dury, Mercury Prize-winners English Teacher, and former NME Cover stars Fat Dog.
At time of writing, it isn’t clear when Wunderhorse are set to officially release their two new tracks, nor is it known if the songs are part of an upcoming album.
Wunderhorse released their acclaimed sophomore record ‘Midas’ in 2024. Iy appeared in NME‘s list of the 50 best albums from that year, where it was described as “visceral [and] impulsive”.
The band then reflected on the success of the LP during an interview with NME at Glastonbury 2025, while also hinting at new music to come.
“There’s a few ideas flying around, but nothing concrete yet,” Jacob Slater told us at the time. “We’re just focusing on doing shows and getting those to a high standard.”
When pressed for more details on where he hoped to take the group’s eventual third album, the frontman responded: “I’ve got a couple [of] ideas but I’ll keep them under here”, pointing to the hat he was wearing.
