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Spectator
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Irritatingly, Wet Leg's new album is pretty good
Grade: B+ There's quite a lot to dislike about Wet Leg, even aside from their stupid name. The entirety of their lyrical canon, for starters – vapid and petulant millennial inanities, 50 per cent performative braggadocio, 50 per cent adolescent carping. Or there's the commodification of their sexualities: they've traded up to being bi, just before the market peaks. Or there's Rhian Teasdale's frequent, bone-idle recourse to an affected, half-spoken monotone in lieu of, y'know, a tune – that shtick had begun to pall even before the end of their debut single, 'Chaise Longue'. Or the unremitting chug chug chug of the guitars and the fact that Teasdale sings in the manner of a 16-year-old when she's actually 32. All this and more. Trouble is, for all that, this is a good pop album. As conventional as it gets within a power-pop framework, from the typically childish kiss-off of 'Mangetout' to the rather affecting paean to Davina McCall called, you will be surprised to hear, 'Davina McCall'. 'Catch These Fists' is graced with crunchy power chords to alleviate the eternal chug, while 'Don't Speak' begins like Paul Westerberg but develops rather cutely into being a rather beguiling piece of what – if these people were older – would be called Heartland Rock. They even, in some of the more melodic moments, bring to mind the Cardigans (who were superior and much archer talents), although more often they recall a kind of slightly more savvy Shampoo, even if they have yet to come up with a song as irresistible as 'Delicious'. Still, against my better judgment, I rather enjoyed it. And isn't it lovely to see the Isle of Wight back on the rock map?
NZ Herald
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
NZ Listener's Songs of the Week: Six60 and Estère's overseas collaborations, and a Lucy Lawless sampler
Estère and Hilltop Hoods with Matiu Walters of Six60. Photos / Paascalino Schaller / Ashlee Jones. Never Coming Home By Hilltop Hoods featuring Six60 Warning: This week's playlist starts off at the gym, heads to the club, then winds up at home, lying on the couch, slightly glum. First up is this collaboration between the veteran Australian hip-hop outfit and NZ market leader Six60 on a pumped-up track that for some, could save a lot of money on personal trainers. There's an MMA-themed video, which is apt for a song on which the voice of Six60's Matiu Walters is definitely supplying the right hook. – Russell Baillie Duog Dala by Estère, Fancy Fingers, Winyo Cameroonian-Kiwi producer-songwriter Estère is now based in London, using it as a base to tour to Africa and work on a series of Afro House singles in the lead-up to an eventual album. This infectious head-nodder is the first, a collaboration with Kenyan vocalists Fancy Fingers and Winyo and employing a new bit of kit, an 'Orchid' chord-generating synthesizer developed by Tame Impala's Kevin Parker. The track was recorded during invite-only London studio sessions held by the keyboard's makers. Good use of a junket, that. – Russell Baillie I'm Lucy Lawless by Alphabethead Producer, turntable artist and former member of The Unseeing Hand and Bad Taste, David Morrison is also a busy collaborator (Death and the Maiden, left-field jazz groups, Home Brew). Here, with a sample of the Xena actress saying, 'I'm Lucy Lawless', scratchy beats and disruptive sounds he shares the first hints of his debut electronica album My Name is David (after six previous albums as Alphabethead) due later in the year. – Graham Reid Alphabethead aka David Morrison: A busy collaborator. Photo / Abby Stewart Together by David Guetta, Hypaton, Bonnie Tyler Primed for ecstatic moments in his Ibiza mega-club, this dancefloor thumper doesn't have much individual character beyond the very obvious beat. The most remarkable thing about it is that Bonnie Tyler re-recorded her vocal for Total Eclipse of the Heart to be sampled. If that's true then the 74-year-old has still got it, 43 years on from that hit. – Graham Reid Heatstroke by Aidan Fine, Yamikani Another wacky gem by Fine, the Auckland pop magpie showing a production style that makes a virtue of how many ideas he can pack into one song. In this case, that includes a cameo vocal from London-based singer Yamikani and an infectiously busy bassline. – Russell Baillie Mangetout by Wet Leg Wet Leg's sophomore album Moisturizer is just out and following the previous singles Catch These Fists and Davina McCall, Mangetout is another punchy, rudely funny, kiss-off blast of British indie from the Grammy wining band fronted by the irrepressible Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers. Altogether now: 'Good God, she took a break/ Made a mistake/ when she met Trevor….' – Russell Baillie Hold On You by merci, mercy Written some years ago apparently, but this cleverly constructed and thoroughly enjoyable song about sensual yearning – and reservations about the popular boy in question -- sounds like it's mining much earlier traditions of New Wave, synth pop and with a keyboard part out of the early 1970s. It's more concise pop from Australian teenager Mercedes Thorne which suggests her Don't Take It To Heart debut album (out August 29) after a bunch of interesting singles is going to be well worth hearing. – Graham Reid All Night All Day by Big Thief This New York-based Grammy-nominated alt-folk outfit fronted by Adrianne Lenker (whose solo album last year Bright Future is worth finding) have worked very diverse territory from folksy Velvet Underground and stoner folk-rock to Dylanesque digressions and folk-pop. Always worth hearing, and this with an enticing and lazy vocal by Lenker, lyrics about the ambiguities of love and gently rolling rhythm is another tasty advance notice of the new album Double Infinity due September 5. – Graham Reid Myths by Rhian Sheehan and Arli Liberman Not your standard 'single', this latest example of the hook-up between two of this country's most successful soundtrack composers (who also worked in what we might call 'rock culture') is a wrap-around piece of post-rock which wouldn't go amiss in an Alien soundtrack. Sheehan describes it as 'plunging into the heart of the sun, an immersive descent into its searing intensity and boundless energy' and we wouldn't argue with that. It's a big sound and the opening track on their forthcoming album Traces due September 12. Check their previous Sentio and Immaru for similar but different cinematic atmospherics. – Graham Reid Eternal by Eydis Evensen and Ari Bragi Karason And another from our Not Your Standard Single department, this by Icelandic pianist and post-classical composer Evensen which was written in depths of their winter. So there's a heavy melancholy and loneliness in the trumpet sound of Karason (Iceland's fastest man over 100 metres, incidentally). Romantic gloom from endless nights and another single from her forthcoming Oceanic Mirror album (October 10) which will be a meditative rather than cheery affair we're guessing. – Graham Reid Ysaÿe, Sonata for Solo Violin, Op.27, No.2 'Jacques Thibaud', Mvt 1: 'Obsession'. By Hilary Hahn, violin It's an outrageous swipe, the opening to Eugène Ysaÿe's Sonata No.2 for Solo Violin. At least he admits it: the first movement is subtitled 'Obsession', and he's referring not to an amour but to Bach, whose Prelude to Partita No.3 the Frenchman is quoting. But where Bach's straight lines and mathematical precision deconstruct what music can do if you push it to its natural limits, Ysaÿe – a great violinist, who dedicated his sonata to Jacques Thibaud, another great violinist – is pushing the instrument as far as it will go. Show off. – Richard Betts
Glasgow Times
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
I saw Wet Leg at TRNSMT 2025 in Glasgow
Turning up in dyed pink hair and wearing what appeared to be a bikini top and shorts with angel wing shoes, Wet Leg's lead singer Rhian Teasdale flexed her muscles as the smoke machine filled the stage and air. It said one thing and one thing only - we're in for a memorable show. (Image: Images by Gordon Terris, Newsquest) After taking a sip of beer and switching to an iconic see-through electric guitar, Rhian and the band jumped into their big hit, Wet Dream - and the crowd weren't shy to join in. The band sounded incredibly tight and Rhian displayed a range of brilliant vocals for the majority of the set. (Image: Images by Gordon Terris, Newsquest) Before launching into one of their new tunes, Rhian said: "How are we doing, TRNSMT? "Thank you so much for coming to see us. We're called Wet Leg and today is a very special day because we've got an album out, so we'll play some new songs." Later on, the singer then addressed the hot weather, before singing one of their older crowd pleasers, Ur Mum. She said: "It's hot but you guys seem energetic. Are you guys good at screaming?" During the song, the band unleash a long, high-pitched scream and if you have seen them in concert, you will know that it is a staple part of their live shows. And sure enough, as revellers played along, a huge eruption of screams broke out across the green when commanded to by the group. (Image: Images by Gordon Terris, Newsquest) The band mixed a good range of old and new songs during today's set and they had so much fun doing it. It was incredibly infectious to watch their joy throughout their hour-long performance. Before playing Mangetout, Hester Chambers, who does backing vocals and plays bass in the band, made a speech about the importance of free speech and democracy before saying "free Palestine". (Image: Images by Gordon Terris, Newsquest) The only disappointing part of the set was the group's decision to finish on CPR, a song from their new album, rather than an older or well-loved song. Admittedly, it was a strange choice. But, the group sounded great and kept the energy up on a hot evening in Glasgow, and as a long-time fan of the band who has never seen them live, they didn't let me down.
