Gemma Cockrell
In terms of the British indie scene, Wet Leg are the hottest band around right now, with their debut self-titled album going straight to number one in the UK charts. Gemma Cockrell shares her thoughts on the record.
Your first question may be ‘Why do they have such a strange name?’ Well, let me explain. The duo, made up of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, hail from the Isle of Wight, where non-islanders who cross the sea to enter the isle are described as having a ‘wet leg’ from getting off the boat. Still a bit of an odd name for a musical project, but at least there is a logical explanation behind it.
The first musicians from the Isle of Wight to score a number one on the UK Official Album Chart
The duo has made quite a splash (excuse the pun) with their debut, since they are the first musicians from the Isle of Wight to score a number one on the UK Official Album Chart. Not only that; they outsold the rest of the top five comfortably to earn themselves the second-biggest opening week for any chart-topping album in 2022 so far. So, it’s no wonder everyone is talking about them.
It’s refreshing to see a female indie band receiving such widespread success, with the mainstream indie genre often being very male-dominated. Wet Leg took the indie world by storm from the start of their career, gaining immediate traction that has not slowed down since the release of their debut single and biggest song to date Chaise Longue last summer, which earnt its rightful place on the album.
Yes, you did read that correctly; they only released their debut single last summer. It does seem unbelievable that they have reached such great heights in such a short period of time, leading many people to accuse them of being industry plants. However, most of these accusations came from Twitter and TikTok, which shows just how credible they are (i.e., not very).
I understand why people may have been cynical of a band who, in a matter of months, signed a management deal, a record contract, and sold out their first headlining tour, despite having only released two singles. But what had truly led to the success of Wet Leg is that they fill a space in the industry – they are two girls playing guitar music, a rarity in itself, and not only that, they’re doing it well.
The catchy, fuzzy guitars throughout the album are often accompanied by deadpan, sardonic and witty lyrics, demonstrating that Wet Leg are anything but a band that take themselves too seriously – Teasdale even admitted in a recent radio interview that they decided to start making music purely for fun, as well as a handy method to get into festivals for free.
The duo repels seriousness with a carefree and fun attitude
Some of these lyrics can seem a bit cringeworthy or immature – an example that instantly comes to mind is “You’re like a piece of sh*t, you either sink or float” from the track Piece of Sh*t). However, the duo repels seriousness with a carefree and fun attitude; it comes across in their music that they are simply doing this for fun, and that makes for a pretty fun listening experience as well.
What really makes Wet Leg special is their universal appeal. Wet Leg is an easy-listen front to back, likely to please and appeal to a broad range of music fans of all ages and from all walks of life. “Come downstairs Gemma, Wet Leg are being interviewed on BBC Radio 4!” my dad shouted up the stairs to me this morning. Wet Leg are worth the hype, and if my dad is a fan, then you should be too.
Gemma Cockrell
Featured image courtesy of Alex Watkin. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article image 1 courtesy of @wetlegband via @instagram.com. No changes were made to this image.
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