Wet Leg

2022年大本命!
全世界から熱い視線を集めるウェット・レッグ
待望のデビュー・アルバム完成!!

イギリスのワイト島出身、リアン・ティーズデイルとへスター・チャンバースからなるウェット・レッグ。これまでにリリースした「Chaise Longue」と「Wet Dream」の2曲が、2021年のベスト・シングルの二つとして多大な評価を受け、今最も熱い視線を集める大注目の二人が〈Domino〉からデビュー・アルバムをリリース。
ワイト島という狭い場所から飛び出し、イギー・ポップも絶賛したデビュー・シングル「Chaise Longue」が、予想を大きく上回る反響を生み、UK各地で行われたライヴが軒並みソールドアウト。
フェスティバルではテントいっぱいに観客を集め、訪れる先々で新たなオーディエンスを魅了した。その後もBBCの人気音楽番組「Later... with Jools Holland」に出演し、VEVOが来年イチオシのバンドを紹介する企画「DSCVR Artists To Watch 2022」に選出され人気も評価も急上昇中。
さらに、近年勢いを増すUKインディー・シーンの仕掛け人で〈Speedy Wunderground〉主宰のダン・キャリーがレコーディングとプロデュースを担当。
「作りたかったのは楽しい曲。悲しい気持ちに浸ってばかりじゃなく、楽しく聴いたり演奏したりできる曲を書きたかったの。」と本人達も語る通り、リアンとヘスターはデビューアルバムにおいて楽しさにこだわり、真面目な顔で平然とジョークを言うシニカルな感覚が、アルバムのそこかしこに散りばめられている。
そこにはカタルシスがあり、喜びがあり、パンクでぶっ飛んでいて、なによりも楽しさにあふれたサウンドが展開されている。

In the middle of 2021, Wet Legs Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers came seemingly out of nowhere and dominated popular culture, or at least a part of it, with their single "Chaise Longue." Its combination of in-jokes, Mean Girls quotes, fancy furniture, and warm beer -- all served up with deadpan irony, nagging guitars, and shout-along choruses -- sounded like instant summer. Somehow, the music Wet Leg wanted to make also happened to be what everyone else wanted to hear; "Chaise Longue" racked up millions of streams and reached number 27 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart, no small feat for a previously unknown act. Its rare that a band is so fully formed at the start of their career, but on their self-titled debut album, Wet Leg deliver more of those immediately memorable hooks and relatable, witty retorts. Unlike many of their post-punk-influenced contemporaries, Teasdale and Chambers laugh at the worlds absurdity (and their own) instead of despairing at it. That sense of humor is a powerful weapon in their hands, and theyre most confident on Wet Leg when theyre taking aim: On "Oh No," they skewer twentysomething existential dread and hipsters in increasingly chaotic, social media-sized bites with such accuracy that it borders on sketch comedy. When they cut an ex down to size over spiky guitars and handclaps on "Wet Dream," the way Teasdale sneers "what makes you think youre good enough to think about me when youre touching yourself?" echoes the way Elastica and Sleeper put a sardonic, distinctly female stamp on Brit-pops oh-so-laddish style. Decades later, its still liberating to hear Chambers and Teasdale tear down someone who doesnt "motivate" them with a well-placed "why dont you just suck my dick?" on "Ur Mum." Though the band completed Wet Leg before the world even heard "Chaise Lounge," they knew there had to be more to their music than whip-smart singles. As a whole, its remarkably well-rounded, spanning slight tweaks to their sound as well as drastic leaps. Teasdale and Chambers strip away their cool on songs as emotionally varied as "Being in Love," which captures the giddy gut punch of romance with a rush of guitars, synths, and knowingly cooed vocals, and "Loving You," which uses its frothy melody and instrumentation to couch the sting of its heartbroken lyrics. When Teasdale sings instead of using her usual sprechesung delivery, as on "Convincing," it adds another level of cheek to their music, one that they take to drolly rocking heights on yet another standout, "Angelica." While Chambers and Teasdale are still discovering what they can do, theyre having a lot of fun finding out, and Wet Leg more than delivers on the promise of their viral beginnings. ~ Heather Phares