On the surface Wet Leg – now officially a band and not only Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers – shouldn’t have too much to keep them awake at night. Their self titled debut went gold in the UK and top 20 in America, by their own admission they’ve spent the best part of the time since it’s 2022 release touring the world and they even got the chance to showcase their new material live on stage from Glastonbury festival. Worries? Not them.
But. Whilst Wet Leg proved many of the doubters wrong by in particular reducing the anthemic indie disco of Chaise Longue to mere nice to have status, it felt lightweight, perhaps deliberately. With touring members Josh Mobaraki, Henry Holmes and Ellis Durand now in situ, for its follow up the quintet shared writing duties and brought producer Dan Carey onboard for an encore. One listen is all that’s needed to understand that Moisturizer is less of a sequel and more a completely new chapter.
You could’ve used your eyes to guess that of course, with Teasdale’s physical makeover giving some back up to the sentiment of lead single Catch These Fists; the album’s cover features her crouching, face consumed by a demonic looking grin.
Not much of that would matter if the promised musical change ups weren’t present. But whilst they haven’t lost the ability to work up a festival crowd pleaser as the opener CPR proves, the grain here veers between 90’s alt rock, louche synth pop and even on closer U And Me At Home dreamy shoegaze. For Teasdale’s part lyrically there’s a sometimes graphic exploration of love in all it’s facets, a diarization that for all it’s candor still doesn’t feel very provocative.
We didn’t dare them, but dare they did: Moisturizer is Wet Leg’s statement of independence from their past, and it’s imperfections make it what it is. Now, please don’t hurt us.
You can read a full review here.
The Voice Of Unreason 