If you were looking to “Catch These Fists” during British rockers Wet Leg‘s return to NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series you’re out of luck. But fans who tuned in to the four-song set from the Isle of Wight band that dropped on Wednesday morning (July 9) got an even bigger treat than another run through that smash-mouth rocker from the group’s upcoming sophomore album, Moisturizer.
While they skipped the album’s first single, the band opened with another one of the LP’s preview tracks, the simmering “CPR,” during which singer Rhian Teasdale sang in a deadpan, “is it love or suicide” while rocking bespoke old-timey boxing trunks and a padded vest.
The band that busted on the scene in 2021 with their debut single, “Chaise Lounge,” were actually in public radio’s office this time after their 2021 virtual “home” concert in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Teasdale used that opportunity to dial up a crisis line on an old fashioned red telephone to profess being smitten against her will, moaning, “I’m in love and you’re to blame.”
Strapping on a pink electric guitar, Teasdale then led the band into “Mangetout,” an as-yet-unreleased track from the album due out on Friday (July 11). “Nice try, get out the way/ You’re in our way, you bottom feeder,” she sang over the mid-tempo, Velvet Underground-style kiss-off rocker anchored by the unequivocal order to “get lost forever.”
The punchy set also featured runs through two other Moisturizer tracks, the buoyant single “Davina McCall” and “11:21,” which Teasdale said they’d never played live for anyone outside of their rehearsal space. The latter was an emotional ballad that found the singer staring down the center of the camera lens as guitarist/keyboardist Hester Chambers and rhythm guitarist Josh Mobaraki added spooky, spine-chilling synth notes over the track’s funereal beat.
Wet Leg will launch a North American tour in support of Moisturizer on Sept. 1 with a show at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle.
Check out Wet Leg’s Tiny Desk Concert below.
