FEATURE:
My Five Favourite Tracks of 2021
Wet Leg – Chaise Longue
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I am at the three-fifths stage…
of a feature where I decide my favourites of the year. I could not ignore the debut single from the Isle of Wight duo, Wet Leg. Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers formed the group and, this year, have seen their music take them to huge radio stations and festivals. If you have not heard their track, Chaise Longue, then give it a listen. I am going to quote a couple of articles where the duo looks ahead (as they released a second single. Wet Dream, not too long ago). It does seem we will get an album spring next year. Before then, Under the Radar Mag give us some Wet Leg background in their interview - in addition to the duo discussing their noted and celebrated debut single:
“The Isle of Wight, located in the English Channel just a few miles off the south coast of the UK, has certainly been punching above its weight, musically speaking of late. Post-punk duo Wet Leg is the latest buzz band to emerge from the Isle, comprising of friends Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers. They’ve also recently signed to Domino Records and released their debut single “Chaise Longue” to universal acclaim.
Teasdale and Chambers met at music college and initially played in other bands before coming together to form Wet Leg. “It wasn’t until a few years after we met that we started playing together. I played the guitar on some of Rhian’s solo work and she’d play the piano on some of my stuff,” explains Chambers. “It was great fun but ultimately we decided we wanted to take a different tack, do something that was a little bit more fun and we also wanted to ‘rock out’ a bit more.”
The band name encapsulates their playfulness and irreverent sense of fun. “Wet Leg” has no coded meaning, nor was it borne out of an existential crisis. “It doesn’t really mean anything,” laughs Chambers. “It was just a couple of words that we kept coming back to. It’s quite funny when people ask us what it means and we can’t explain it. Ultimately it can mean whatever you want it to mean.”
Wet Leg’s tongue in cheek humor abounds on their hypnotic debut single, “Chaise Longue.” Fittingly the track was inspired by Chambers’ grandfather’s chaise longue. “I kind of inherited it,” she explains, “and it now lives in my flat. When Rhian stays over it’s also where she sleeps. She actually wrote all the lyrics to ‘Chaise Longue’ whilst sitting on the chaise longue (all day long).”
It only took a few demos to convince Domino Records to sign Wet Leg. “Given we’d formed pretty much at the start of the pandemic and Domino hadn’t really seen us live,” reveals Chambers. “It’s so great that they have put their faith in us.”
Chambers is also delighted, albeit somewhat taken aback, about how “Chaise Longue” has resonated with people. At the time of this writing its video has over 800,000 views on YouTube, with comments such as “This has got to be the greatest debut single in years,” “Finally something fucking different, that does something new,” and “This is going to skyrocket, and if it doesn’t, it’ll be one of the coolest gems in music history.”
“It’s been a lovely surprise,” she says, “we wrote it in one an evening, just writing for fun and being silly and we had no clue at the time that it would connect with so many people”.
NME interviewed Wet Leg earlier in the year following their successful debut single. It has taken on a life of its own:
“In June, debut single ‘Chaise Longue’, a barnstormer stuffed with impatient, overdriven riffs and deadpan one-liners (“Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?”), went unexpectedly viral – a feat so astonishing that it’s practically unheard of for guitar bands in their position. It is instantly quotable, almost painstakingly addictive, and has now been played over 2 million times on Spotify alone, helping Wet Leg find an international audience eager for their provocative lyrics and Violent Femmes-inspired grooves. This memorable introduction certainly got people talking (perhaps “a little too much”, suggests a still-bewildered Chambers), but above all else, it begged the question: when was the last time that guitar music felt this goddamn exciting?
“We could have never predicted this,” says Chambers over Zoom, pondering why the duo’s music has been received so eagerly. “We do feel really lucky – but we still have no idea what’s happening.” She looks over to Teasdale halfway through her sentences, almost as if to check that they are both on the same wavelength. “I think we’re just going to live in the moment as much as we can. I just can’t imagine things ever getting better than they are now”.
It is definitely not the case that Wet Leg are one-hit wonders! As they discussed with The Forty-Five in a great interview, there is the tantalising prospect of an album in a matter of months:
“They managed to record ‘Chaise Longue’ just before lockdown hit and in June 2021, Domino Records (Arctic Monkeys, Cat Power, Georgia) came a-knocking, taking a punt and signing them off the back of not very much at all. A week later, ‘Chaise Longue’ was released and everything blew up. The video now boasts 1.3 million views on YouTube and the song has been streamed close to four million times on Spotify. Not bad for a debut track.
By their own admission, Wet Leg are a classic introvert/extrovert pairing, Hester being the quiet one, sweet and softly spoken to frontwoman Rhian’s slightly more confident exterior. Their overall vibe – as reflected in their lyrics and oddball videos – is surrealist cottagecore post-punk. Think killer riffs, sassy one-liners, prairie dresses and the occasional giant lobster claw thrown in for good measure. They’ve been compared to the likes of Karen O, The Breeders and Le Tigre, names that feel weighty but not ill-fitting”.
But there’s not much chance of that. With so much momentum and a chaise longue full of good songs, it’s no surprise that a debut LP is already in the works.
“We’re hoping to release an album next spring or summer,” Rhian says, looking somewhat incredulous.
The pair have been working with Speedy Wunderground super-producer Dan Carey (Goat Girl, Fontaines DC, Squid) but as to whether Carey is producing the whole album? “We’re not sure if we can divulge that information”, Rhian says, squirming in her seat a little”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Holly Whitaker
I will wrap up by linking to Chaise Longue by sourcing a DIY interview from September. Stamping their mark on the scene with that debut single, many might wonder, sonically, whether Wet Leg will remain on the same course, or whether there will be surprised. It seems that, already, they have at least one famous fan:
“With the music world waiting on tenterhooks for their next moves (and a second single out later this month), Wet Leg are remaining coy about exactly what else they’ve got up their sleeves but explain, via cheery giggles, that the band offers them an outlet for their naughtier sides. “I guess sometimes it’s nice being able to lyrically say all the things you wanna say but wouldn’t because they’re not necessarily the kindest things,” Rhian hesitantly offers.
For example? “Well, there’s one called ‘Piece of Shit’ which is about a past relationship,” she chuckles. “I know it’s the old cliche of writing songs being cathartic, but that was a good one. It’s SASSY,” she declares, with a wiggle of the shoulders.
And it’s a recipe that’s already paying dividends. Don’t believe us and every other music source vehemently proclaiming Wet Leg’s status as the definitive ones to watch? Just ask Paramore’s Hayley Williams. “She DMed us and I DIED. We all just DIED,” squeaks Hester.
“It was just beyond our capabilities to think that the song would be listened to by anyone, so the fact that people are really excited has blown our minds,” she continues with a grin. “I sound so gushy, but if I told 17-year-old me that we’d be here right now she’d say, ‘No way’. But now this band is all I think about”.
I am going to wrap up now. One of 2021’s clear standouts, Wet Leg’s Chaise Longue is a song that is still being talked about! A terrifically quirky and urgent song from Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, Wet Leg are going to have a very busy and successful 2022. There are so many people wondering what is next…
FOR the incredible duo.