Wet Leg: Moisturizer
(Domino)
Released 11 July 2025
CD | Vinyl | Cassette | DL | Streaming
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
The pride of the Isle of Wight are back with their storming second album. Now a fully-fledged five-piece band, Wet Leg offer a festival-friendly set of 12 more songs about relationships and soft furnishings. Robert Plummer feels well hydrated.
It’s a conversation you may well have had yourself over the past two or three years. From boomers to zoomers, there’s no shortage of jaded music fans prepared to moan about the state of modern pop. At some point in the proceedings, however, you’ll tend to hear the words: “But I think Wet Leg are really interesting.”
Yes, somehow Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers have ended up fronting the indie band that refreshes demographics their rivals can’t reach. And their impact has been felt throughout the industry, with artists as varied as Harry Styles and House Of All covering their songs live. Try matching that, Last Dinner Party.
Now is clearly the time to consolidate their position. Moisturizer sees them doubling down on their strengths, delivering a breezy, confident statement of female sexuality that takes no nonsense from upstarts of any gender. All packaged up in their mid-paced, loose-limbed neo-grunge, while Teasdale voices depth-charge quips in her breathy style that delays, without blunting, their ferocious impact.
“You think I’m pretty, you think I’m pretty cruel/You say I scare ya, I know most people do,” she sings on Mangetout. Then comes the punchline: “Nice try, now get out the way.” Other putdowns are available, including Catch These Fists, a literal gut reaction to unwanted attention: “I just threw up in my mouth when he just tried to ask me out.”
CPR, the album’s opening song, equates love and suicide in a frankly disturbing manner, giving free rein to a declaration of passionate emergency. “Put your mouth to mine and give me CPR/Call the triple nine and give me CPR,” runs the chorus.
Elsewhere, the mood is more affectionate: several songs channel the giddy rush of new-found romance, including the blissed-out paean to Big Brother presenter Davina McCall that bears her name. Likewise, Pond Song, one of two tunes written solely by Chambers, explores a maelstrom of sentiments over a sinuous synth riff. “So sweet, even when you’re sour/I’m thinking ‘bout you every minute every hour.”
It all peaks on Pokemon, which borrows 1980s pop tropes to deliver a pure shot of aural oxytocin. “You taste so sweet like grenadine/You are my favourite human being,” croons Teasdale. Galloping drums propel the tune forward like a quickening pulse as the two lovers plan a drive from the “Isle of Wight to Tokyo”: “I don’t wanna take it slow.”
Wet Leg’s defining moment is still their debut single Chaise Longue, prized for its sassy talk of horizontal pursuits and buttered muffins. This time around, the band’s furniture-related moment comes from Pillow Talk, an altogether more blatant exercise involving, er, intimacy with a pillow. It’s a whoop and a holler that even drags in Wild West icon Calamity Jane, presumably referenced for the sexual ambiguity that surrounds her legend.
When the sun went down, the rapid tempo of the music fell: late-night ballad 11:21 adds emotional range to the album as Teasdale pines for her absent partner. “It’s not like the moon forgets to shine when I’m not with you, but it feels like it just might,” she sings movingly, adding: “I love you like nobody else.”
U And Me At Home brings the mood full circle, kicking off with a sampled breakbeat but soon settling into cruising speed. It’s a tranquil end to the record that feels like some kind of reconciliation: “You tell me it’s not so bad/You always know just what to say.”
A brave record that wears its heart on its sleeve, Moisturizer has a confessional tone that lends authenticity to its lyrics. Musically, too, the album pulls no punches, thanks to a thundering triple-guitar attack and an assured rhythm section. Wet Leg are in the big league now – and on this evidence, they have everything it takes to stay there.
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You can find Wet Leg online at https://wetlegband.com/. They are also on X and Instagram as @wetlegband.
All words by Robert Plummer. More writing by Robert can be found at his author’s archive. He is also on X as @robertp926.
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