Comprised of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, and formed on the Isle of Wight in 2019, Wet Leg have become somewhat of a cult sensation amongst music lovers of all ages and genres since that single, Chaise Longue, became viral and catapulted them into the spotlight. The album that followed, simply called Wet Leg, has been deemed an indie rock masterpiece, has been widely critically acclaimed, and has led to a relentless touring schedule that has seen this ripe young band hone their craft.
And so, a rainy Tuesday night in Liverpool, and despite the academy in Liverpool not being one of my favourite gig haunts, the atmosphere was hot and the anticipation electric. When the band took the stage there was a strange air of mystique in the air; the sort of delight and pure curiosity that only a band like this – so recently unknown but now renowned – can bring. Being In Love kicked off events, and I was fascinated to see the amazing dynamic on stage between Teasdale and Chambers. It was followed by the risque and engrossing Wet Dream, which led to an explosion of audience participation. The joy, however much cheeky and tongue-in-cheek, was palpable. Talk about catchy – this band literally ooze the word.
Convincing and Supermarket were delivered under the psychedelic swell of purple light, confirming this band’s uncanny ability to make the blood move through your veins with impetus. The Liverpool crowd was typically involved, and the songs that followed – Obvious, Oh No and I Want to Be Abducted (by a UFO), were not only rip-roaringly tight, but just about as quirky a little trio as a pack of extraterrestrials themselves! Accomplished, savvy and thoughtful, Wet Leg have a way of presenting their compositions that feel far more like musical theatre than straight musical delivery, and I for one am totally invested.
Ur Mum, the last song you’d ever want your mother to hear, continued the frenzy in a crowd that had not only dried off but well and truly steamed up! Angelica was the penultimate banger before the much awaited finish – Chaise Long – which is just about one of the finest singles of the century so far. The band lapped up a tsunami of Scouse enthusiasm and left the stage, no doubt, wondering how the hell all this happened in such a short space of time.
Wet Leg have landed, and I for one have boarded the ship! If this is what cold winter Tuesdays can be like then bring them on!
Nature poetry. For too long, it’s been the domain of soft-focus sentimentality: predictable scenes of meadows, rivers, and, yes, even gliding gulls.
As 2024 draws to a close, it’s impossible not to marvel at how much has been accomplished in just one year. This
Call for Submissions: Glow: City at Night Poems The Broken Spine is excited to announce that submissions for our latest slimline anthology,
The Broken Spine is a poetry and arts collective proudly published on the coastal edge of North-West England. Founded in 2019 by Alan Parry and Paul Robert Mullen – two school friends reunited after twenty years through a mutual love of poetry.
