Wet Leg’s second album, moisturizer, serves lovestruck songs with a side serving of withering slap-down.
“Limousine, racking up/ Ketamine, giddy up… Yeah, don’t approach me
I just wanna dance with my friends” – thrilling, cacophonous lead single ‘catch these fists’ effortlessly deflects unwelcome advances. The satisfying conclusion? “Man down.”
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Resplendent with punk swagger and oodles of groove, opener CPR recounts heart-stopping love that requires rescue-breath treatment. That hypnotic bassline, though! And Rhian Teasdale’s orgasmic vocalisation during the breakdown. Then enter siren sounds and repeated acknowledgements, “I’m in love/ And you’re to blame…”
The airy, galloping, synth-driven ‘pokemon’ – “You wanna go for a dri-iiiiiiiiive?” – channels spontaneous-vacay energy.
“Every night I fucked my pillow I wished I was fucking you” – quiet-loud dynamics are exploited to perfection during ‘pillow talk’. Minimal, sprechgesang verses oscillate with maxed-out choruses – all thwacking drums and QOTSA riffs – throughout. “You’re kinda cute, though/ Like Calamity Jane” – charged and horny, this standout track rushes like a carnival ride on pingers.
Sweetly sung but downcast instrumentally, the penultimate ‘11:21’ transports us to a psychedelic wonderland where floaty flute rules.
During closer ‘u and me at home’, featuring boppy bass, Teasdale goes meta: “Maybe we could start a band as some kind of joke/ Well, that didn’t quite go to plan…”
The international music landscape is, unquestionably, enriched by Wet Leg’s presence. To say we’re “deep in love” with this now-quintet is a gross understatement.
