Released in late 2013, the self-titled EP isn’t a celebration of unblemished infatuation. Rather, across its four tracks, Wet vocalist and songwriter Kelly Zutrau discloses details of relationship decay and heartbreak. For Zutrau, the inclusion of such emotional honesty is essential to her songwriting approach.
“When I’m writing, I’m usually writing because I am going through something difficult or having intense feelings that I need to process,” she says. “I do think pop music is really missing this real emotion and sadness. That’s sometimes why I’m drawn to R&B more, because I think R&B has more raw emotion and can feel more sad. That’s the music that really resonates with me.”
Alternately based in New York City and Massachusetts, Wet’s lineup is completed by drummer Joe Valle and guitarist Marty Sulkow. The aforementioned EP was widely praised upon release and in the subsequent year, Wet toured the US supporting Sohn, as well as making it over to the UK and France. Amid all of this activity, they’ve been chipping away at their debut LP.
“We just finished, we’re completely done,” Zutrau reveals. “We’re waiting to get it mastered, that’s the last step, but our part is done. We should have a single out really soon.”
Although the trio had only been together for a short time when the Wet EP was recorded, a productive synergy quickly emerged. Thus, when it came time to do the album, the members comfortably assumed their separate roles.
“My primary role is as the writer,” Zutrau says. “I’ll make a demo on piano or autoharp and I’ll send it over to Joe. Joe will start working on a beat and set the tone, do a lot of the production work. Generally, Marty will do guitar and some synths and also help recording vocals. He has more of an engineering background.
“In terms of personalities, I’d say I’m a little more intuitive than either of them,” she adds. “Marty’s somewhere in the middle. Joe is intuitive as well, but he’s very organised, works really hard and puts in long hours. I’m a little bit messier and more emotional.”
As was the case with the EP, the songs on the forthcoming album were largely inspired by Zutrau’s emotional impulses. “There’s some really, really intense songs,” she says. “Listening to the album is an experience. It’s not like you put on a single and play it at a party. It’s not that kind of music at all. It’s really emotional. One of my fears about the album is that people will be freaked out by it and be like, ‘This is too much.’
“I hope that people going through a breakup, or depression caused by something else, can relate to the songs and feel that sadness and intense emotion, but also get a sense of hope – a balance of sadness and hope and happiness. I don’t want it to be too depressing.”
The added thematic intensity isn’t all that’ll distinguish the long-player from Wet’s existing material. Zutrau explains how the arrangements have been fleshed out to match the expressive vocal outpourings.
“We really did home in on a sound, and it’s really different from the EP. I think you’ll be able to hear the connection with the EP, but there’s a lot more going on, a lot more instrumentation. There’s a lot of strings, a lot of piano and the new songs are a lot more lush. I’m really excited to see how people react to that.
“The writing is more complicated and it felt like the songs required more,” she adds. “They couldn’t hold up just with the bass and the vocals and the guitar. I guess it was a conscious decision and it made sense, but at the same time that’s what I love. I love strings, I love piano and I really wanted that, and the boys did too. It’s really exciting. I think it’s definitely a progression from the EP.”
Wet are heading our way this week for their very first Australian tour. They’ll be supporting London Grammar on their run of massive theatre shows, as well as dropping into Howler for a headline gig. Presuming they don’t follow Wet Wet Wet into one-hit-wonder obscurity, Wet have years of global touring ahead of them. This is something Zutrau’s gradually coming to terms with.
“In the beginning, it was pure torture for me,” she says. “But we just got to San Francisco and I’m actually really happy to be here and I feel excited about coming to Australia. I think it gets easier as time goes on. We’re really lucky and I constantly am reminding myself that we’re lucky. So we’re getting better.”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
