Ignored             Obscured              Restored

In the summer of 2021, “Chaise Longue” by Wet Leg went viral.  The post-punk earworm from the Isle of Wight duo fronted by Rhian Teasdale was inescapable — quirky, deadpan, knowingly absurd.  To my ears, it felt like a novelty destined for the rock almanacs under the label “one-hit wonder.”

Last year the band returned with their second album, moisturizer, their first new release since their 2022 debut.  Buried within it is “Mangetout,” a track that has taken up permanent residence in my head.

Wet Leg still deploys Teasdale’s trademark talk-sung vocal style, but here it sounds more self-assured.  The song is a high-energy banger, driven by an urgently catchy guitar riff that feels less like a punchline and more like propulsion.

And then there’s the title.  “Mangetout” stopped me cold. Is it mange tout — French for “eat all”?  A wink at the snow pea?  Or is it three words slyly compressed: man, get out?  Maybe it’s a triple entendre, all meanings operating at once.

You think I’m pretty, you think I’m pretty cool
You wanna fuck me, I know most people do
Here, take this packet, you read it, it says, “Mangetout”
I gave you magic beans, I hope you’re gonna get out soon

This isn’t flirtation; it’s eviction.  She’s sending that self-satisfied hanger-on packing.  He’s overstayed his welcome, crowding her space, “standing in my light.”  The fairy-tale “magic beans” are less promise than punchline — a transaction completed, door firmly shut.

So much for the novelty tag.  There’s no one-hit wonder here.  If anything, Wet Leg have pulled off the trick every buzzy debut act hopes for: they’ve turned a viral moment into a career arc.  Call them the comeback kids — only this time, they sound like they plan to stay.

Enjoy… until next week.