The rapidly ascending UK alt-rock band Wet Leg proved their mettle during a recent performance at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works. Playing to a sold-out room, the spell was cast the moment Rhian Teasdale emerged from the haze. The opening number, “catch these fists,” off their fabulous sophomore effort, Moisterizer, signaled that the band’s attitude towards live performance is full-frontal sonic assault. And while their albums aren’t for the faint of heart, to fully appreciate them, you have to see them live. They go to 11.
With three Grammys and two UK number one albums under their belt, Wet Leg shows no signs of taking the foot off the gas. Founding members Teasdale (lead vocals/guitar) and Hester Chambers (lead guitar/vocals) added touring musicians Josh Mobaraki (guitar/synths/vocals), Ellis Durand (bass/vocals), and Henry Holmes (drums) to the permanent lineup earlier this year.
The move is a logical one, since Wet Leg presents itself live as a band. Teasdale (understandably) gets most of the attention in the press. However, the live experience is one of seeing a blisteringly great rock band firing on all cylinders. The crowd at Marathon certainly loved it.
The live rendition of “Chaise Longue,” the hit single from their eponymous debut album, illustrates the point. Chambers’ guitar riff during the chorus explodes over the top of the band’s driving rhythm. The crescendo goes well beyond the recording in its intensity.
Bassist Durand was on fire the entire night. His use of fuzz, combined with the gritty guitar tones of Chambers and Mobaraki, underpins the band’s aural landscape. Held together by Holmes’ skill behind the kit, they provide the perfect grist for Teasdale’s vocal onslaught.
And speaking of Teasdale, just, wow. Possessed by a mesmerizing insouciance, her stage presence is 100 percent rock star. But where she truly shines is as a singer, locked in with the band through every syncopated phrase. Her voice has a timbre unique to great rock singers, cutting through the fray while remaining within it. It’s coyly sexual with a wink-wink innocence that effortlessly moves from sing-song verses to soaring choruses.
“Ur Mum” is another track that demonstrates Wet Leg’s effort to honor the recordings while upping the ante live. Their clever approach to dynamics gives the impression that, when it seems like they’ve hit maximum headroom, there’s still “one more louder.”
Catch Weg Leg in a mid-sized club or theater while you still can. At the very least, they won‘t disappoint. More likely, they’ll gobsmack you.