Photo: Hollie Fernando

Isle of Wight newcomers Wet Leg invite us in with the sardonic debut single “Chaise Longue”

Wet Leg is a new band comprising Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers and hailing from the Isle of Wight. Although today sees the release of their debut single, “Chaise Longue”, it’s coming out on Domino, so you know they must have something about them.

The name Wet Leg suggests some kind of nervous disposition, but there’s no trace of uncertainty in this opening shot. They begin “Chaise Longue” with a skeletal beat and wiry guitar, a sound charged with potential energy by the teasingly unimpressed vocal; “I went to school and I got the big D,” they offer in monotone, leaving all suggestions purely to your mind. A surge of guitar adds to Wet Leg’s momentum, but they stay determinedly serious as they continue to subtly pick apart modern expectations, offering “would you like us to assign someone to worry your mother?” and later, “I’ve got a chaise long in my dressing room / and a pack of warm beer that we can consume.” They then rip heedlessly onwards, and by the time they double down on the earworm hook “on the chaise longue all day long,” you feel about ready to collapse onto titular seat and unload all your stresses.

The excellent self-directed video for “Chaise Longue” finds the duo taking up positions as disinterested porch-dwelling damsels, which you can watch below. Otherwise listen on streaming platforms.

With more to come soon from Wet Leg, make sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. Plus, they have these dates ahead:

10th July – Margate Bus Trip+
22nd-25th July – Latitude Festival, Henham Park, Suffolk
23rd August – Junction, Cambridge*
24th August – o2 Academy, Oxford *
31st August – SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow*
1st September – SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow*
4th September – o2 City Hall, Newcastle*
6th September – o2 Academy, Liverpool*
7th September – Rock City, Nottingham*
19th September – Isle of Wight Festival, Isle of Wight
11th October – The Crescent, York^
12th October – King Tut’s, Glasgow^
13th October – Think Tank?, Newcastle^
15th October – The Jericho Tavern, Oxford^
16th October – The Jericho Tavern, Oxford^ (matinee)
16th October – The Jericho Tavern, Oxford^
 
 *  = w/ Declan McKenna
+ = w/ Sports Team
^ = w/ Willie J Healey