Wet Leg preview their bold new chapter at London's O2 Academy Brixton

Sure, a few fans were worried about the lack of new music showcased last summer, but punchy comeback track ‘Catch These Fits’ quickly calmed any concerns about a difficult second album.

Tonight’s gig at London’s O2 Academy Brixton starts with that same swaggering statement. Rhian Teasdale slowly marches towards centre stage as the thundering electro-punk track picks up where the pre-gig playlist of Justice’s ‘We Are Your Friends’ and Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ ‘Heads Will Roll’ left off. It’s as playful as anything from ‘Wet Let’ but has a fierce self-assurance.

If you need more proof of their confidence, just look at the setlist – six unreleased tracks from their upcoming album ‘Moisturizer’ make the cut over fan-favourites ‘I Don’t Wanna Go Out’ and ‘Loving You’, but each one is cause for excitement. The frantic ‘Pillow Talk’ is a stadium-sized rock anthem that sees the five-piece band operating at full power, while the poppy ‘Jennifer’s Body’ is less intense but just as huge – clearly written with mass singalongs in mind.

As big as those new songs are, there is still plenty of space for Wet Leg to toy with surreal and bizarre. Their backdrop is the inside of a cave, and sounds of what can only be described as a whimsical forest break up the set. ‘Liquidize’ is a soft, romantic slice of jangly Britpop, the lush ‘Davina McCall’ could soundtrack a coming-of-age road trip, and there’s more than a hint of country to ‘Mangetout’, which already feels like a hit despite the name.