An interview by Dylan Bryant (Music Editor)

Guitar based Indie act ‘Wet Leg’ have blown up ever since releasing their debut single ‘Chaise Longue’ in summer 2021. I caught up with the band for a chat and started by asking how they formed.

“We had been playing music before we made Wet Leg, in a more folky scenario. Rhian played piano and I played guitar. We played some really sweet little festivals together, but I guess being at these festivals and seeing all these other bands having loads of fun strumming guitars was really inspiring for us. We wanted to do something with a bit more energy and change it up a little bit.”

Now, armed with guitars, a taste for French disco and a shared love of music that ranges from The Ronettes to Bjork, they have a fresh new sound that’s hard to ignore and this can be championed by their self-titled Number 1 debut album. Speaking on their inspirations, they say – 

“There’s quite a lot between us. When we first started Wet Leg, we decided we wanted to play carefree, trashy guitar music. Sort of like early Kings of Leon. Rhian is the best at writing beautiful melodies that are perfect for being pop bops and the tongue and cheek thing is what she’s all about. She’s really funny in real life, so it kind of naturally comes out when she writes lyrics.”

Wet Leg have worked with some amazing people including Jon McMullen and Alan Moulder, who has previously worked with the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Foals. Speaking on their experiences they say– 

“It’s the best, when we went in to record ‘Chaise Longue’ we were like little lost lambs. We had the Demo of it and the essence of it, but when we were in the studio, we were guided by Jon. He really pushed us to find this strong structure. We end up saying “Chaise longue” a lot of times in it, but somehow, it’s not overkill. Alan Moulders body of work is incredible, so when we got to work with him, we were kind of like – what the heck! We were so chuffed to work with him on the mixing and things! It was really good.”

The duo come with an infectious edge that is accompanied by a Brighton-esque quirkiness. From quoting Mean girls to ‘big D’ jokes, there’s a post punk reaffirmation with Wet Leg. They say – 

“We’re having lots of fun. That’s kind of what we’re holding on to because the world is so bleak. We’re trying to get the smiles in where we can.”

The self-titled album is a compelling introduction to ‘Wet Leg’ who are made up of Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers. With their deadpan attitude and irresistible edge, it’s no surprise that they have become so big so quick. Speaking on their rise to fame they say –

“It’s all a dream. It’s more than we ever could’ve imagined being from the Isle of White. We’ve been doing music for a lot of years and when we’ve written songs before we’ve never released anything under a label. I’m used to only my friends hearing the songs. Now people in Australia and Sussex are listening to our music. It feels really cool to have something that makes people smile.”

Speaking on the topic of touring with indie household names Declan Mckenna and Inhaler they add; 

“It’s wild. We’re so lucky. Both Declan Mckenna and Inhaler have the most punk audiences ever. It’s a really surreal thing to do. We hadn’t played many gigs before. We only played 4 gigs before lockdown and we came out of it with all these amazing support slots. It was pretty overwhelming as we didn’t really get a chance to build up and were thrown in the deep end. It’s been really scary but really fun. It’s unbelievable that people are into it.”

Wet Leg have become one of the fastest growing indie bands with their fresh and contagious new sound. It was great to chat to them and I will hopefully be catching them live very soon!

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