There haven’t been many more successful odes to the improbable twists and turns of modern existence than Ronan Keating’s “Life Is a Rollercoaster”. The platinum-selling single gave the Irishman his second UK No. 1 in 2000, and in keeping with its spirit of expecting the unexpected, Wet Leg use their Apple Music Home Session to serve up a cover that transforms the breezy pop original into an indie banger full of throbbing riffs and spidery guitar melodies. “It’s been such a whirlwind for us as a band,” says Rhian Teasdale, one half of the Isle of Wight duo. “So I think we chose to cover ‘Life Is a Rollercoaster’ just because we felt like we could relate to the sentiment of it. Kinda goes hand in hand with another motto that we live by, of ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway.’ It’s been such a wild and unexpected ride for us since starting Wet Leg, and we’re all ’90s babies, so we’ve grown up with Ronan Keating on the radio—so it seemed appropriate.” You can also hear an acoustic version of the pair’s second single ‘Wet Dream’. Originally released in September 2021, it’s a song that cemented Wet Leg’s reputation as one of British guitar music’s most exciting new bands—no mean feat given that they had only played a very small handful of gigs together when lockdown first descended. “[The last two years] changed us dramatically,” says Teasdale. “Having the time and space that lockdown granted us, we were able to make two music videos, one of which was [debut single] ‘Chaise Longue’. We made a bunch of demos. We found our management in lockdown. We signed to Domino in lockdown. Before that, we were both working full-time jobs so our band was just something we’d do just for fun as and when we could.” Not only did Teasdale and bandmate Hester Chambers emerge from lockdown with a new career, but the period also taught them some valuable life lessons. “One,” says Teasdale, “you’re never too old to challenge yourself and learn something new. Two, it’s OK to not go to the party if you don’t want to. Three, being a hermit is fun.”
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