Sometimes it’s the littlest discs that pack the biggest punch. This debut EP from Brooklyn trio Wet clocks in at a spare four songs and 13 minutes, but it manages to make as much of an impact as any full-length I’ve heard recently. Wet’s sound is self-assured and sensual, pairing moody, lovelorn lyrics with airy production that simply soars behind Kelly Zutrau’s incandescent voice. They ride a neat balance between cool electronic beats and the human warmth of their harmonies, Joe Valle’s subtle drumming, and Martin Sulkow’s wavering guitar lines.
First cut “Dreams” unfolds in a bloom, pairing stuttering, almost disjointed jangles of electronica with Zutrau’s sultry voice and floating harmonies. “Some days aren’t good for anything at all / Feel all those feelings but don’t make that call,” she trills, pulling together all the disparate elements of the arrangements here into something melodic and lovely.
Continuing along in this catchy, indie pop vein, “You’re The Best” infuses a country twang into the dreamy, layered vocals and Sulkow’s sparkling guitars. But while the trio is killer at creating these short, sweet slices of charming melody, it’s on the second half of the EP that they begin to dig into the depth of their sound. “Don’t Wanna Be Your Girl” veers into R&B slow-jam territory and it’s altogether devastating, the spare and subtle lyrics cutting deep: “I don’t wanna be your girl no more / I just wanna see your face at home,” Zutrau sings as the instrumentation holds its breath around her lilting vocals. The quietly tender yet spacious arrangement, paired with the deft lyrics, capture the conflict between wanting to disentangle from a relationship but still yearning for its comfort and familiarity.
Closer “No Lie” is perhaps the standout of the album, providing the cathartic outlet for the slow-burning buildup of the prior three tracks. While the track begins with Zutrau’s quietly vulnerable falsetto as she realizes “My baby, he said he loved me / But that’s a lie,” it morphs into a visceral, powerful refrain as she uses the full power of her voice to proclaim, “The time I have wasted / But I’ve had enough / You put me on and on and on and on and on / Time to give it up.” As the guitars flare up around her and Valle’s drums shiver, the harmonies fade out to dream and we’re left with resignation and resolution.
This EP is a powerful and promising debut. Wet has created a unique and stunningly well-realized sound, and if this is a sign of what’s to come, the trio has great things ahead of them.
