Who wants to hear music recommendations from an old fogey?
London Grammar; Billie Eilish; Sia; First Aid Kit; 21 Pilots; Caravan Palace and Mother, Mother, are just a few of the artists my young daughters have introduced me to.
One of the (many) benefits of having children late in life is the cultural influences they have that rub off on you.
Wet Leg are the latest musical phenomenon to pique my parental interest.
“Hang on a minute, is she singing about a ‘wet dream’?”
“Yes, dad,” rolls eyes to sister.
“Do you even know what a…”
“Yes, dad,” in unison.
Mumbles to self while washing dishes.
Anyway, much to my daughters’ disappointment, I think Wet Leg are brilliant.
The band was set up by besties Rhian Teasdale and Hesther Chambers on the Isle of Wight. And you can tell they’re best mates by the way they interact with each other on stage. They have a wonderful chemistry together. The other band members comprise of Henry Holmes, Ellis Durand and Josh Omead Mobaraki.
Their music is contemporary and reflects the zeitgeist of growing up in a consumer-driven social media society. (Yes, I really did just type that bullshit.)
They’re sassy and their lyrics don’t take any prisoners, cleverly encapsulating female empowerment (and vulnerability). Perfect role models for young girls and women. Garbed in 19th century American frontier-pioneering frocks, they’re the antithesis of the big-record-label-marketing department.
They seem to be having a hoot, (like they can’t quite believe this is happening either). They don’t take themselves too seriously and come across as pretty humble. They sing about the usual stuff – relationships, drugs and navigating the modern world, but with their quirky indie/pop-punk/rock signature harking back to the likes of The Breeders and surrealism of Talking Heads with a bit of vocal gymnastics reminiscent of Bjork. Rhian Teasdale doesn’t just sing the lyrics, she performs them. She gets into character. They’re playful, nonchalant and emotive.
Their self-titled debut album is absolutely fanatastic. Every song is a hit single. I can’t pick a favourite so here are a few for your delectation. Their videos are pretty cool too.
I’m trying to persuade my daughters to come to a gig with me. If you’re at the one in Manchester, I’ll be down the front in my wheelchair, with a tartan blanket across my knees waving a candle in the air, whilst simultaneously asking them to turn the music down a bit.
David Milligan-Croft
Thereisnocavalry 
Totally agree. They are a great band. And I’m someone who remembers the Kinks, the Smiths, and the Violent Femmes.
Glad you like them. Love the bands you mentioned too. (I have to put Bowie in there too!)
Bowie is phenomenal.
being of a similar age, and of having a young ‘un of 16, i feel a similar situation of being ‘educated’ by my children-i have four altogether it’s the youngest who is 16- firstly i used the word ‘sus’ in a sentence and my youngest nearly did that rofl thing i told her yeah we had slang words too when i was young… apparently it is only the youth of today that can use such words…. then i find myself now a thoroughly ‘modern’ woman in that i found myself in a situation whereby i had to use ….a hashtag…. instagram you know simply doesn’t work without them… so my youngest educated me in the use of hashtags, apparently the fact i had only used three showed my naivety and so she gave me lesson in how to hashtag properly… my posts on insta now get noticed…sigh… the joys of modern life, also the band is ok but i am much more zappa/beefheart/acdc at heart and stuck in my ways musically, my daughters have tried to pull me kicking and screaming into todays music but instead i showed them laurie anderson, apparently it is quite amazing that we had music like this back in our day…great post thank you for sharing, hope you have a lovely day
Glad you liked it, thanks for taking the time to comment. Yes, it works both ways. My youngest has filched most of my Bowie and Roxy Music LPs! (Which I’m secretly pleased about.)