Fender has teamed up with British break-out band Wet Leg for its latest episode of its Player Plus Sessions, which sees members of the hugely popular indie rock outfit wield a variety of the Big F’s Player range of electric guitars.
Headed up by Hester Chambers on lead guitar/backing vocals and Rhian Teasdale lead vocals/rhythm guitar, Wet Leg first grabbed eyes and ears thanks to their viral debut single Chaise Longue, which was followed by a string of equally infectious tracks, such as Too Late Now and Angelica.
Now, less than three months after they dropped their self-titled debut album, Teasdale, Chambers and the rest of the live Wet Leg lineup have linked-up with Fender for an intimate concert/interview.
While Teasdale can be seen donning a $1,149 Player Plus Meteora model – the extreme offset that arrived earlier this year – Chambers opts for a super-versatile HSS Stratocaster, which the pair use to perform Wet Dream, Ur Mum and Oh No.
A handful of other Fender models can be seen in the hands of the Wet Leg backing band, too, with touring bassist Ellis Durand playing a Player Mustang bass guitar and Player Plus Telecaster.
After tearing through the pummeling progressions, delicate textural melodies and charging choruses of Wet Dream, Teasdale reveals she only started playing guitar at the onset of her Wet Leg journey.
“I didn’t play guitar before this band,” she says. “I used to play keyboard. Playing in this band with Hester, I’d be like, ‘My fingers really hurt, I can’t do it, I can’t play guitar.’
“Hester would be like, ‘No, you’ve got this!’ I also feel a more powerful version of myself.”
A rendition of Ur Mum follows, suited to boot with a wild screaming interlude inspired by a London-based “psychedelic society” group therapy technique – something the band adopted for their own live performances.
“When I first moved to London, Tuesday nights at like 8pm, you’d just hear this big mass scream,” Teasdale recalls. “About a week later, we realized we were above this place called the psychedelic society, and I think they were having a group primal scream therapy.
“When you’re really nervous and playing big shows,” she continues, “it’s nice to just get a chance to look at every single one of [the band] and scream.”
Oh No brings the procession to a close, and is once executed via an all-Fender lineup comprising the Meteora, Stratocaster, Telecaster and Mustang bass.
Wet Leg are the latest to link up with Fender for an intimate gig/interview event. Last March, Soccer Mommy donned an American Professional II Strat to perform tracks from her 2020 record, color theory.
More recently, Mdou Moctar put on a display of unfiltered genius and demonstrated why he’s one of today’s most exhilarating guitarists in his own Fender Sessions installment.
Head over to Fender to browse its full range of Player Plus models.
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