‘Wet Leg’ is a delightfully fun silly summer soundtrack
Wet Leg’s self-titled debut album shows a promising, fiery start, full of catchy new wave hits and silly, sometimes stupid, lyrics. The duo, composed of lead singer Rhian Teasdale and lead guitarist Hester Chambers, has embraced the chaos of life and translated it into short, bright tracks that make fun of everything from getting your degree to Diet Coke.
The album’s fairly short runtime of 36 minutes and 49 seconds manages to pack in more than enough expletives to make your grandma blush. Yet, the refreshing honesty and inaneness of Teasdale’s writing make this a great carefree summer album.
The track, “Being in Love,” opens the album off well with Teasdale’s airy voice layered over noisy guitars reflecting a slight shoegaze influence. Her knack for unique analogies is on display as she sings “I feel so uninspired / I feel like giving up / I feel like someone has punched me in the guts / I kinda like it cause it feels like being in love.”
Following this is a series of upbeat new wave tracks beginning, with viral hit “Chaise Lounge,” whose innuendo-laden lyrics garnered more than 13 million streams on Spotify before the album’s release. The entire song feels like a wink and nudge from your best friend as you silently laugh together about an inside joke.
Rather regrettably, Teasdale’s songwriting isn’t always the most polished. The bouncy guitars on “Angelica” are delightful, yet some of the lyrics can feel like a tired reflection of so-called “modern” life that many new indie bands fall victim to. On “Angelica,” she sings “I don’t wanna follow you on the gram / I don’t wanna listen to your band,” while on “Oh No,” she writes the unfortunately millennial-sounding line “You’re so woke / Diet Coke.”
Yet, in its pursuit of silliness, the duo has room for improvement. Its commitment to keeping the tracks fairly light, in both sound and lyrical content, is admirable and shows a commitment to their brand. However, this can occasionally feel as if the band falls short of silly sincerity and lands instead into corny, overdone territory. In “Angelica” and “Oh No,” the band tends toward rather bland references to so-called “modern” life in a reach for relatability.
A redeeming and endearing quality of “Wet Leg” is that you can tell Teasdale and Chambers are having pure, plain ol’ fun. The tracks move quickly and with momentum, exhibited in its single “Wet Dream.” Quite possibly the album’s zestiest song, “Wet Dream” features an addictive, foot-tapping beat combined with saucy lyrics such as, “You climb onto the bonnet, and you’re licking the windscreen / I’ve never seen anything so obscene / It’s enough to make a girl blush.” The track feels like summer, and that bottled joy is enough for anyone to love.
A standout moment on the album comes in the middle of “Ur Mum,” when Teasdale lets out a big scream after declaring, “OK, I’ve been practicing my longest and loudest scream / OK, here we go / One, two, three.” It shows Teasdale and Chambers’ playful side, and while it could have been a risky move for another band to include this, the scream fits right into their eccentric aesthetic. The song feels as if it was ripped straight from an early ’10s teen rom-com, and all the more power to them for it.
The album’s slower tracks are as tight and earnest as its more upbeat ones. “Loving You” features a dreamy opening with a simple drumbeat and Teasdale’s Clairo-like vocals layered into a mystical chorus. This sweet sound hides the bitter lyrics, yet their irritation and confusion tie the whole thing together. Teasdale sings, “I don’t wanna have to be friends / I don’t wanna have to pretend / I don’t wanna meet your girlfriend / Hope you choke on your girlfriend.”
Similarly, the penultimate track, “Supermarket,” features slower, surf rock influenced guitar, with background vocals of a crowd that will make for a hand-clapping live experience. Again, the lyrics are sweet and domestic, and the metaphor of love in a supermarket conjures up images of racing down the aisles on shopping carts and laughing a little too loud in the cereal aisle.
Overall, Wet Leg’s debut album is silly in most of the right ways. Lucky for their listeners, Teasdale and Chambers have shown they aren’t afraid to burst onto the scene with their own brand of weirdness, and hopefully that also means they won’t be afraid to improve. So as we move into summer, filled with endless days of sunshine, happiness and moments of small silliness, this is the record that’ll be spinning right alongside us.
Rating: 4/5