6th November 2023
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‘We’re so back’ exclaim Wet Leg via an Instagram post on 17th March which ended a prolonged period of radio-silence for the band. Not much had been heard of them since their debut release and tour. Fast forward four months and ‘moisturizer’ is released to the world, their second album which proves that they are indeed, so back.
Since the release of their hit single ‘Chaise Longue’ and the ensuing debut album just under a year after, people have argued over Wet Leg’s ‘one-hit wonder’ status. ‘Chaise Longue’ propelled the band into the bigtime, yet many believed their newfound fame was not much more than a fluke. Four years down the line and the quintet have returned with their sophomore release, entitled ‘moisturizer’, to prove they’re here to stay. And they might be better than ever.
Wet Leg have mastered the knack of bearing their influences on their sleeves whilst still presenting something unique and fun. They don’t take themselves too seriously and they don’t care if you’ve heard some of these chords before. Because as far as they’re concerned, you haven’t heard it from them.
What might be their trump card in terms of setting them apart in the indie world is the laissez-faire, sardonic approach the band have, as if it were a personality trait spread onto five. Their debut featured songs about getting high in the supermarket, and with ‘moisturizer’ they’ve ratcheted it up to ten. ‘catch these fists’ playfully mocks the approach of unwanted men, “He don’t get puss, he get the boot”, a thought which is followed up on ‘mangetout’ with “You’re in our way, you bottom feeder”. Pop culture references are never too far from the fore either, with the likes of Calamity Jane and Davina McCall both earning references throughout the track list.
As far as the instrumentation goes, Wet Leg still love a good riff. The bassline on the album’s opener ‘CPR’ intersects with the drums so casually, as if playing a charade of Queen’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust’. Lead single ‘catch these fists’ feels like it could’ve been found on the previous release, with a dancing guitar line that’s just been made to be played loud.
Deeper in the album are signs of Wet Leg’s maturity and confidence as an act growing. ‘pillow talk’ features their heaviest riffs yet, an electrified bass meeting charged guitars once the chorus hits. Similarly, tracks like ‘liquidize’ and ‘don’t speak’ feature a more amped up, bending set of guitars, harking back to the days of acts like Elastica. ‘pokemon’ presents quite the change too, bringing about a breezy, up-in-the-clouds set of beats which bear shards of Masayoshi Takanaka and other Japanese city-pop stars.
While ‘moisturizer’ feels like it runs out of fuel slightly by the time it concludes, the album still presents a number of positive shifts. There’s a sense of the surreal on ’11:21′, not just from the moon which might ‘forget to shine’ or the birds which might ‘fall from the sky’ but also from Teasdale winding her vocals around each syllable. Such a style, both in the pace of the track and the anxious depth that our frontwoman coos with would’ve been out of place previously. Yet here it feels entirely natural, the kind of bold choice that the previous ten tracks have aligned with.
When setting their two releases against each other, Wet Leg seem to have shifted to a slicker kind of unit, one more willing to push their own boundaries. Part of this could be attributed to a change in songwriting – more responsibility has been taken on by the likes of Ellis Durand (bassist) and Joshua Mobaraki (guitar), while principle songwriter and lyricist Rhian Teasdale still dominates the song credits with her contributions. With this latest release, the band have set their stall out, remaining in the indie rock camp yet taking on a more diverse palate than much of the indie rock scene currently offers.
To listen to ‘moisturizer’ on Spotify, click here.
To read more on Music, click here.
