Wet Leg – Wet Leg
Wet Leg were one of the big music stories to come out of 2021 – coming from nowhere (well, the Isle of Wight) to become so hotly tipped, their debut album has been trailed with performances on the US late-night circuit.
With all that hype then, it’s a relief to say that now it’s arrived. The duo of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers’s self-titled LP is the opposite of a disappointment. That’s partly because some of its key components – like the inescapably wry viral hit Chaise Longue, and the driving rhythms of Wet Dream – were already out there as singles and would be enough to sell an otherwise average record. But this is far better than that.
Dreamy opener Being In Love would grace most debuts as a lead single, but here acts as an appetiser that hints at their talents before their signature Chaise Longue dish. Woozy ode to bad house parties Angelica follows – with its lyrics showcasing Teasdale’s biting wit. I Don’t Go Out could be filler, but its echoes of David Bowie’s Man Who Sold the World provides perhaps the most obvious example of another element of what makes Wet Leg far more interesting than your average indie aspirants: a keen knowledge and sense of music history that bleeds through the album and allows them to blend styles while creating one that is very much their own. It’s also present on latest single Ur Mum – which could just be a boppy stage for more quippy couplets but in its later stages actually has hints of Joe Meek’s spacey production.
Although the record’s final third lacks the sweaty indie club bangers, it has its own appeal, with Oh No providing a bit of grotty garage rock that sounds great live, Piece of Shit adding some subtler folk vibes despite its uncouth title, while Supermarket and the epic Too Late Now provide a fitting conclusion.
The latter, another single, is up there with their best – moving from strange dissonance into the skilful indie-pop that marks the songs that have already made Teasdale and Chambers the genre’s hottest property.
This is definitely a case then where you should believe the hype – even though it’s almost a shame to say so. Because there’s also a humble, well-made charm to the record that means it can be thoroughly enjoyed even if you’re slightly too old or uncool to go to the places Wet Leg are undoubtedly going.
Mark Worgan
Wet Leg is released on 8th April 2022. For further information or to order the album visit Wet Leg’s website here.
Watch the video for the single Ur Mum here:
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