Wet Get Us… Excited [premiere]

Regret and uncertainty have never sounded so tantalizing. Minimalism, harmony, and an incredible voice all combine to form one of my favorite original sounds thus far into 2013. I knew this to be true about ten seconds into the first song I heard. Meet Wet.

“U Da Best” finds the subject going back and forth in her head, full of doubt about the person whose arms are wrapped around her — “All I know is, when you hold me, I still feel lonely, only when you hold me…” These lyrical blows to the chest had me hitting the back button almost immediately, nearly causing a pile-up on the highway (I was in rush hour traffic when I heard it). The sweet, stripped vocals stand beside a slow electronic beat for the first forty-five seconds, then a “drop” occurs, and the beat picks up just enough to turn it into a slow jam. Solemn guitar lines and simple harmonies make for a folktronica feel, and there’s certain potent gravity to this song that I can’t quite spell out — all I know is that it’s both sexy and sublime.

“Bad Idea” connects the break-up dots via R&B-flavored beats and soulful vocals, adding in a bit more texture but still retaining that delicious minimalism that I crossed my fingers for after hearing the first track. There’s a slight pause at 3:00, after which they sing softly yet powerfully of remorse, “You were just an idea…and a bad one, just a bad idea. And ideas slip away…”

With these two tracks, Wet, also members of the band Beauty Feast, have demonstrated their pop brilliance, borrowing elements from other genres so discreetly and expertly, you’d swear the combination has never existed before. Whenever I struggle to locate which aspect of a band I like most, be it lyrics, vocals or sound, I know I’ve stumbled onto something important. I’m exhilarated to have been introduced to Wet, and even more so to hand them over to you. Wet has yet to release a full-length, but listen to “U Da Best” and “Bad Idea” above and head over to Bandcamp tomorrow to grab both tracks, plus more from a few months back.