Twelve months ago, if you’d have asked who Wet Leg are, it’s likely that 99% of people would have looked back with confused eyes. Tonight, they find themselves filling Electric Ballroom to capacity, already a show that feels almost criminally too small. That’s what happens when you capture something bigger than any mere hype act could conceive. With sceptics firmly cast aside and a Number 1 album under their belt, this isn’t about a coronation. Instead, it’s one of the wildest shows of the year from a band rewriting expectations as they go.
That rapid growth plays perfectly into their live show. While most bands evolve with life on the road, Wet Leg haven’t lost any of their unique spirit. That sense of playful fun is there from the first note of ‘Being In Love’. An early airing of ‘Wet Dream’ is sung back word for word by the packed crowd in front of them, while ‘Supermarket’ and its yodelling hooks have arms in the air, embracing the sort of party atmosphere that puts smiles on faces with a click of the fingers.
After all the anticipation, Wet Leg’s self-titled debut album – and the wild success accompanying it – sets the stage in the boldest font possible. Rich and varied with pulls from early-00s indie at one moment and more textured American alt-rock the next, live it becomes a jaw-dropping display that refuses to let go. ‘Piece Of Shit’ and ‘Obvious’ – an unreleased track, much like ‘I Want To Be Abducted (By A UFO)’, that fits perfectly within their set without breaking a sweat – are another arrow to their already formidable bow. Fizzing energy bursts from ‘Too Late Now’, the electric pits that emerge, but an opening gambit. ‘Oh No’ is a whirlwind of limbs and flashing lights, while ‘Ur Mom’ may fast be becoming a standout favourite with effortless pop harmonies and hilarious one-liners. And the scream? Electric Ballroom takes that to wall-crumbling levels. Sometimes it can seem so simple, but it’s anything but – Wet Leg are simply built differently.
A band with a level of presence that makes them one of the best nights out in the country, if not the world right now, the reaction leaves them speechless. Searing through the overflowing ‘Angelica’, it sets the stage for a true moment. 2021’s Song of the Year contender ‘Chaise Longue’ drives the Electric Ballroom to pandemonium-level scenes with a new degree of fire. The extra spark cements their place as capable of defining an era.
Tonight, Wet Leg prove just why they’re a league above, and – more importantly – why this is nowhere near the peak of how big they’re going to become. Rising to the very top in a manner that bands simply don’t do anymore, the Wet Leg takeover continues – and what fun it is.
