Wet Leg - Wet Leg

Album Review

Apr 9

Wet Leg

Can the songwriting of a viral hit song stretch to a full-length album? Yes. Wet Leg is catchy as hell and completely relatable.

Hype (noun): Extravagant or intensive publicity or promotion.

The self-titled debut album from Wet Leg adamantly refuses to take itself too seriously or have any deep meaning. Its singles became viral sensations and left the media asking the lazy question - "does Wet Leg live up to the hype?"

In fact, it's the literal headline from several prominent publications like The Telegraph and AV Club.

The default reaction by most to answer this question is entirely counterproductive to its protagonists Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers' mission of Wet Leg.

…Well?

Does Wet Leg's debut album live up to the hype?

Can the duo's simplistic, direct, catchy, fun post-punk "Chaise Lounge" translate to a full-fledged album?

Yes.

At this point, you probably have heard the buzziest band out of Britain's story. Long-time friends Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers decide to start a band ten years into a friendship, release "Chaise Lounge," go viral and sign to Domino Records so quick the world is genuinely going complete conspiracy theory about them being an industry plant.

The song, filled with cheeky lyrics that the album will be primarily remembered for, is the perfect representation of Wet Leg. Wet Leg is straight ahead verse/chorus punk tunes, always complete with one catchy guitar hook and some don't-fight-how-witty-the-lyrics-are attention to detail.

There is nothing complicated about the music, and that is by design. The goal of Wet Leg is not to take things too seriously and to have fun. And while they certainly don't reinvent the wheel - there is no one else who sounds like them. Despite the infectiously simplistic sounds of Wet Leg - they have carved out a sound unique to them.

It easily could have backfired. There are lyrics and ideas all across the album that could have sounded awful if delivered with slightly less conviction or improper execution. This could have gone very bad.

But it doesn't.

Wet Leg is 12 songs in 36 minutes with no damn note wasted.

Wet Leg is not a multi-layered Darren Aronofsky film dripping in melancholy - where watching a second or third time might reveal more profound meaning.

Wet Leg is John Hughes consistently delivering approachable, fun movies that allow the audience to dig deeper if they want to.

It's catchy as hell and completely relatable.

Songs like "I Don't Wanna Go Out" have Teasdale singing about plans she's trying to get out of.

Songs like "Angelica" touch on wanting to leave a party and being stuck there with people you don't like.

What sets Wet Leg apart is a true dedication not to live up to their own hype. They aren't innovating; they rely on all the great ideas that came before them and make them their own. The songs aren't about them; they are about you. They are about our experiences.

This album is a really, really, good time. It's seeing the pilot push the throttle all the way up. It's produced wonderfully, clean and bright all the way through, highlighting the right things at the right time.

However, Wet Leg robs themselves of exploring their true potential as musicians by sticking to the script. Is this the best version of themself? Maybe. Maybe they go experimental on their next album, and we come back to how beautifully easy their debut was.

And before that second album comes out, we'll be asking ourselves again - does it live up to the hype?

Let's do what Wet Leg would want us to do. Crank it up, forget the hype, and just have fun. It's impossible not to while listening.

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