Within a couple of minutes of listening to Wet Paint’s second album ‘Woe’ you can’t help but notice snippets of influences from a pick ‘n’ mix of 90s American indie kings - from the laconic drawl of J Mascis, the hypnotic slacker charm of Pavement and the rich pop sensibility that made Sebadoh such criminally unsung heroes. But of course if Wet Paint were merely an identikit, patchwork covers band of this era they would hardly warrant getting in such a stew over. What makes them such an intriguing prospect is that they seem to have taken elements of that glorious moment in music history and rubbed a bit of their own 21st century polish on it.
2008’s debut ‘It Rots’ was perhaps more blatant homage to the grunge and post-grunge US alt scene, with singer Babak Ganjei’s pained vocal style veering close to a ‘Stars In Their Eyes’ Pavement moment. (“Tonight, Matthew, I’m going to be Stephen Malkmus’...). On ‘Woe’ the band have reined in their obvious love for the era without losing the aroma of it entirely (you can still smell the plaid shirts and Converse All Stars from a mile off). Opener ‘Gone So Long’ swirls and lurches around like a thrilling/sickening fairground waltzer, making you lose your balance and fall headlong into a world where killer distortion pedals and yearning male vocals still rule. In fact, this track is less grunge homage than a nod to the swirly off-kilter introspection of Ride and My Bloody Valentine.
The band certainly like to chop things up, stopping you from second guessing them at every opportunity; you’ll find a magnificent wailing, thrashing, monstrous five minute epic (‘Distant Memory’) sitting next to sweet little acoustic ditty (‘Aim Low’) which modestly clocks in at just under two minutes, all adding to the sense you’ve just woken up after a particularly lairy night out and you’re not quite sure what your name is any more. Bonus grunge points are added for the band’s liberal use of images of introversion and inadequacy and sporadic moments of rage (check out the titles ‘Little Disappointments’ and ‘Shadow’s Secret Life’).
The prowling bass and incessant guitar shimmers of ‘Dead Night’ giving way to a squalling tsunami of feedback make this the Sonic Youth one, with the band doing a good impression of Thurston & Co’s discordant guitar stabs and studied stone cool attitude. Ironically, it’s not this track which namechecks Sonic Youth - that happens on ‘Little Disappointments’ which contains a zillion little twists and turns, at once a pretty, jangly surfer pop melody, the next moment like the Jesus & Mary Chain jamming with Mogwai to the death, before morphing into the best Cure B-side you can imagine. While not the most instantly catchy track, it nevertheless is the one that proves Wet Paint are a far more interesting, clever, clued up proposition than you might first imagine.
So all told Wet Paint have done pretty much everyone a great service here - if you’re old enough to remember 90s US indie, it’s sure to go down a treat (with the slight drawback of possibly making you feel old enough to start drinking Ovaltine and wearing plaid slippers); if you happen to have been in nappies in those days, it’s OK too cos even discarding their heart-on-the-sleeve influences, Wet Paint have made a rocking great shiny brute of a record which stands strong and glorious all on its own.Rating: 8/10
Wet Paint - Woe
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