An excellent follow up to their excellent debut (also #12 in 2022). After their stint as #nextbigthing, Wet Leg return a headline act with much more expectation to live up to. moisturizer (no capital letters, thank you!) delivers on that expectation with a second helping of top-quality indie pop. The musical template of the debut record is largely retained, albeit with a sharper edge and a greater focus on dance influences. Indeed, my favourite tracks here are those that are of a propulsive, dance rock nature. ‘CPR’ and ‘catch these fists’ both remind me of Kasabian at their best, while ‘pillow talk’ verges on something almost like Death from Above 1979’s thundering bass driven dance rock. Lyrically, Wet Leg offer up more arch girl power, although this time of a slightly more abrasive nature (they are less playful on moisturizer than they were on their debut, for sure). I’m not convinced any of it – lyrics, music, presentation – is quite as subversive as Wet Leg seem to think it is, but that doesn’t really matter: they’re undeniably cool, and at least they’re trying to say something instead of churning out the usual vapidity. In 2022, I questioned whether Wet Leg had enough about them to deliver a successful sophomore album. Fair play, they certainly did. Let’s hope the same is true for album #3.