Wet - Don't You


Wet
Don't You
2016
Spotify

Wet, the Brooklyn three piece, who in recent history have been known for their antics and nostalgia for 90s R&B have released their debut album Don't You. There is probably a world where this record is light, fun and takes from genres rather than simply imitates them, but that album is not the one they have released. For the most part the entire record is downtempo, slow and sappy songs about lost love. That in and of itself however is not the problem with this album, the problem is there is just so damn much of it. By the second track you are desperate for a change of pace, something to lighten this record up but it never comes. The lyrics are so heavy with vitriol and loss that you have to slog through that muck to get to any real special moments. Connecting with this album in sad times may be it's saving grace. A track like "Weak" though it feels extremely desperate, has a real sense of sentiment that almost everyone can connect with. Kelly Zutrau's vocals are also a real highlight. Her voice is both powerful and delicate giving it that real special sound that so many artists strive for. But that voice is lost in a record that sounds like it should be playing over an ASPCA commercial rather than in the hippest of scenes. Even when a song gets slightly big like on "Island" the band quickly tamp it down and move on to the next.

What really comes across on Don't You is that Wet had an idea and a concept for this record and they stuck to it pretty hard. Track to track you will have a hard time finding really specific things that set them apart besides the lyrics. Downbeat, ethereal back instrumentation, Zutrau's vocals rinse and repeat over eleven tracks. It's sad because you can hear the moments that could really be something groundbreaking, but the slip away unnoticed. I honestly don't know if this is true but I cannot help but shake the feeling that this record feels contrived, specifically made to take advantage of a moment rather than reflect an emotion. If you are able to stay awake during the full album kudos to you because even when "You're the Best" comes in with a little more energy it is a little to little and a little to late. If there is one standout here it is "Move Me" which quite honestly is a tremendous song. It's big and bold but still holds on to those 90s R&B vibes that Wet is trying so hard to create. It just further goes to show that something is in Wet, and they know how to access it, they just need to do it better as time goes on. This is certainly not the end for Wet because it literally is the beginning. I have no doubt they will figure it out, but just not yet.

5.1 out of 10

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