🎵 2022-04-08 15:00:00 – Paris/France.
Wet leg Photo: Hollie Fernando
Wet Leg seemingly came out of nowhere last year, signing to major label Domino in June 2021. When the duo – vocalist and guitarist Rhian Teasdale and guitarist and backing vocalist Hester Chambers (accompanied by Henry Holmes on drums, Ellis Durand on bass, and Joshua Omead Mobarak on guitar and synths) – released his first single, “Chaise Longue”, the song became a viral sensation.
Despite the swirling rumors, Wet Leg is not an industrial factory. Teasdale and Chambers also don't have famous parents; the duo gained attention so quickly mostly through word of mouth (being signed to Domino surely helped too). The group released six singles before the arrival of the album: "Chaise Longue", "Angelica", "Wet Dream", "Too Late Now", "Oh No" and "Ur Mum". All were fantastic in their own way, but the songs that were saved for the record feature some of Wet Leg's best work to date. It's the rare, long-awaited debut album that lives up to the hype.
The album begins with “Being In Love,” a hard-hitting track with honeyed vocals, where Teasdale compares his all-consuming anxiety to the feeling of falling in love with someone: “I've lost my appetite / I can't sleep at night. night / I can't concentrate / I don't feel too good / The world is falling apart / And I fight a little / But I kinda like it because I feel like I'm in love .
Teasdale is a gifted songwriter, able to seamlessly capture emotions that are hard to put into words. There's "I don't want to go out," which perfectly captures that moment in your late twenties when you're too young to give up on your aspirations, but you still feel jaded and discouraged. “Before it was so fun, now everything seems so stupid / I wish I could care / And now I'm almost 28 / I keep getting rid of my stupid face / A fucking nightmare / I know I should care / Right now I don't care,” Teasdale sings. While the song's lyrics are discouraged, the music is an incredibly charming contrast, with synths and choruses giving the track an ethereal feel; it looks like angels welcoming you into the pearly gates of heaven.
“Loving You” is another Teasdale-penned track — a solemn, synth-and-guitar-driven number about fallout disappointment with someone toying with their emotions — despite having a new partner. Teasdale's voice remains soft as she says it all bluntly: "I don't wanna have to stay friends / I don't wanna have to pretend / I don't wanna meet your girlfriend / I hope you're alright. choke on your girlfriend / When she calls 999 / They cut you off.
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The theme continues on the aptly titled "Piece Of Shit," a song that's also pared down compared to the effervescent singles, with Teasdale choosing to be the bigger person and not have to deal with someone mistreating her: "Do you want me to cry? Good. As if I could die? Good. You are a good guy. Good. Alright, anything that helps you sleep at night,” she sings. Wet Leg's most biting lyrics come in the sweetest songs; it's a stark contrast that makes them even more eye-catching.
But even when Teasdale exposes her emotions, she doesn't undermine the band's sense of humor in the lyrics. “Ur Mom,” a bouncy pop song, has her calling out a former lover, asking her to get over him. No need to be eloquent about it: "Yeah, why don't you suck my dick," she replies, while clarifying why she can't keep up the momentum any longer. And that humorous frustration reaches a breaking point, with Teasdale announcing that she practiced her "loudest scream", counting to three before letting out a scream.
There's a big difference between how Teasdale and Chambers approach songwriting. While Teasdale seems to like to take a more literal approach, writing emotionally charged lyrics that feel like listening to an intimate conversation with a friend or, in some cases, the kind of risque lyrics that make you want to throw away your phone across the room. after the dispatch, Chambers keeps his writing more abstract and absurd.
The only song Chambers wrote for this album without Teasdale's co-credit is "Convincing" ("It's Not Fun" was also written by Chambers alone, but only appears on the deluxe edition). On this track, Chambers' voice takes on a sultry coo reminiscent of Lana Del Rey. "Do you think the other girls would care if I also bathed at night / On the beach / Wet feet / Bioluminescent plankton shit," she mused. Chambers' voice is just as beautiful as Teasdale's and leaves you wanting to hear more.
The real magic on the record comes when Chambers and Teasdale share songwriting duties, as they both have a dirty, wry sense of humor. Take the lead on the single “Chaise Longue”: The Bad girls the benchmark works largely thanks to Teasdale's fun delivery. With a monotonous tone that could rival Margot Tenenbaum, Teasdale looks cool as she sings some of the silliest lyrics imaginable, including the opening lines "Mommy, daddy, look at me / I went to school and got a diploma / All my friends call it 'the big D' / I went to school and got the big D."
One of the biggest stars is the fun and kinky “Wet Dream”. It's clear that Wet Leg likes not to take themselves too seriously, and on this ridiculously catchy track, Teasdale and Chambers get creative with their naughty imagery: "You get on the hood and you lick the windshield / I don't I've never seen anything so obscene.” Wet Leg play a lot with injecting different genres into their guitar-based music, and in the case of “Wet Dream,” the band creates a disco-tinged song. Rhythm guitar shines best when paired with percussion, as Teasdale repeats the evocative phrase "It's enough, it's enough, it's enough, it's enough (to make a girl blush)"; it is contagious and alive.
Then there's "Angelica," an overly relatable song with shimmering guitar riffs about the awkwardness of attending parties while having social anxiety. The lyrics "I don't even know what I'm doing here / I was told there'd be free beer / I don't wanna follow you on the 'gram / I don't wanna listen to your band" nails this what it's like to have to socialize with people you don't relate to; what looks glamorous from afar is often uncomfortable from within.
Even when it comes to significantly more subdued pieces compared to the others, there are no dull moments on wet leg. With the winning duo of two amazing guitarists and great songwriting, it's a near-perfect intro. The disc has such a compelling collection of songs that it's already exciting to wait for what Wet Leg will come up with next.
SOURCE: Reviews News
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