Hailing from the Isle of Wight in England, Wet Leg is a band that began primarily as a duo consisting of Rhian Teasdale (vocals and guitar) and Hester Chambers (backing vocals and guitar), joined later by other session musicians who later became official members, bringing the current lineup to five.
Wet Leg were eagerly awaited for this second opus
Wet Leg were eagerly awaited for this second opus, which follows up their 2022 self-titled debut, an album anticipated by the killer single “Chaise Longue” that placed them in the international spotlight for that blend of post-punk, garage rock, and indie. After topping the charts and earning two Grammys with the first album, it was up to the Isle of Wight girls, who I remember being a symbolic site of rock music festivals, to prove that they were not an ephemeral phenomenon but a solid musical project.
Wet Leg and the new collaborators
Already in choosing to emphasize their consistency as a band by implementing, even compositionally, the three collaborators who acted as turntables in the live setting, there was an important sign of a vision with broader future horizons. The album begins with “CPR” and we are immediately projected into a sonic universe that draws from post punk without wearing its clothes, where darkness is preferred to a certain lightness and irony.
Liquifying
This is followed by “Liquidize,” a textbook indie rock track, guitars and skewed rhythms, complete with a sudden closing as if a tape had been interrupted. It is surprising how, in this track, as in the others, everything is “in the right place,” the chorus, the rhythmic guitar entry, giving an overall feeling of freshness.
One of the highlights of this full-lenght
This is followed by the hypnotic “Catch These Fists,” which I do not hesitate to call one of the highlights of this full-lenght. The iterative, minimalist guitar and the haunting refrain bring back memories of those sonic territories at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, where the energy of punk mixed with experimentation in bands like The Flying Lizards and Pink Military.
“.. I’ll be your Shakira
Whenever, wherever
You know I’ll come sailing
Through the stormy weather
Oh,It’s that kinda love..”
Davina McCall according to Wet Leg
These words in the lyrics of “Davina McCall,” the name of a famous British TV host who here becomes the cue for a somewhat sugary and oblique love song, where sentiment and irony mix in a pleasantly alcoholic cocktail that soon goes to your head. Yes, because, despite appearances, this second work by Wet Leg is about love, about Rhian Teasdale‘s sentimental experiences laid bare, but always in a playful mishmash of often improbable quotations.
Jennifer’s Body
Like the horror movie reference of “Jennifer’s Body” a film in which Megan Fox stars as a cheerleader possessed by a demon who devours her lovers. “Jennifer’s Body” is a cadenced track whose guitar solutions remind us of My Bloody Valentine‘s shoegaze. But the game of quotations could become very rich, the influences of Wet Leg‘s sound are many, who could realize a personal style, even very catchy as in “Mangetout” or in the vague synt pop flavor of “Pond Song,” where the synthesizer incorporates the guitars in a game of sound geometries to arrive at a joyful explosion.
The unique track
Among the more unique tracks is “Polemon,” which starts with a rhythm not too far removed from Michael Sembello‘s “Maniac” and a Teasdale whose singing approaches that of Nina Persson of Cardigan. In this track the rhythm gradually becomes more pressing and mechanical until it becomes motorik. “Pillow Talk,” on the other hand, fishes among the rhythms of Joy Division, one of the episodes closest to classic post-punk; it almost sounds like listening to Garbage playing Gang Of Four, but the result is again, personal and original.
“.. I don’t speak Italian
And I don’t speak French
I don’t need Je t’aime, babe
You know this makes sense
I can say I love you
Just by looking in your eyes
I don’t need Ti amo
But I’ll say it if you like
I’ll say whatever you like..”.
“Don’t Speak” begins
With these verses “Don’t Speak” begins, but one should not be enchanted by the soft and winking melody , noise guitars are always around the corner and explode when you least expect it.
The real surprise of Wet Leg
The real surprise of the album is “11:21,” for all intents and purposes a ballad, in which one can even find solutions close to Kate Bush in the modulation of the vocals, which often switch from high notes to a much lower range. The song manages to be unusually delicate and is an added value of this release.
The perfect conclusion
A perfect conclusion to an album like this is the choral and almost joyful track “U and Me at Home,” which ends like a little mantra, a celebration of coming home, with many voices in the background reinforcing this feeling.
“You and me at home again
You and me at home
You and me at home again
You and me at home”.
Wet Leg have passed the “difficult second album” hurdle after their dazzling debut, and we are sure that, one way or another,“Moisturizer” will enter the hearts of many.
Tracklist
- Cpr
- Liquidize
- Catch These Fists
- Davina Mccall
- Jennifer’s Body
- Mangetout
- Pond Song
- Pokemon
- Pillow Talk
- Dont Speak
- 11:21
- U and Me at Home
Band
- Rhian Teasdale
- Hester Chambers
- Ellis Durand
- Josh Mobaraki
- Henry Holmes