By Josie Katz
The first time I heard Wet Leg’s “Wet Dream”, I couldn’t help but think I had just heard the perfect intro to a song with a drum fill. When Rhain Teasdale’s vocals came in, I realized it was only going to get better as her voice accompanied the punk and indie rock rhythms. Immersing myself in Wet Leg’s self-titled Debut album was incredibly fun and exciting. Songs like “Chaise Longue” have lyrics sung with an addictive syncopation like “Is your muffin buttered? / Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?”. Both the lyrics and instrumentals of the band are equally captivating, playful, and head-bang-able.
The band originates from the Isle of Wight, in England, and was started originally by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers in 2019. For this second album, their touring band, Ellis Durand (bass), Henry Holmes (drums), and Joshua Mobaraki (guitar/synth) share the writing credits, expanding the group into a quintet.
Once my obsession with this album began, I was aching for more music from the band. 3 years after their first album, Wet Leg’s sophomore album, Moisturizer, comes out on Friday, July 11th.
I could have waited an extra day and just written an album review, but I didn’t do that for a few reasons.
1.I don’t trust my initial perceptions of an album enough to publish publicly
2.I am far too biased now to talk about this band, as I would most definitely overuse the word perfection
The first three singles off of Moisturizer have been released over the past few months, leading up to the album release. “catch these fists” and “CPR” capture the energetic sound of Wet Leg I fell in love with. However, my favorite single is “davina mccall” (a title referencing the English television presenter). This song offers a side of Wet Leg I have yet to hear, taking a softer approach to describe what Rhain sings as “That kinda love”. This song perfectly encapsulates the feeling of falling in love and the urge that comes with it to incorporate a person into every aspect of life. It is a declaration of a deep want to make someone feel loved. Additionally, the claymation music video directed by Chris Hopewell is a demonstration that Wet Leg brings their playful style into everything they do.
All this to say, this is going to be an album worth listening to on Friday. Wet Leg is also coming to the Bay Area to the Fox Theater in Oakland on September 30th and October 1st for the Moisterizer tour.