Cover Me: Wet Leg’s moisturizer artwork is animalistic, grotesque, and totally on brand

It also really aligns with the songwriting, as well. It’s always a little bit tongue-in-cheek. What’s cool is that I didn’t really realize that we were doing this at the time, but the way that Hester has her back turned, and I’m scary at the forefront. It’s a foreshadowing of Hester still very strongly being there and giving you as much as she’s going to give you. And then I’m at the front being a freak, which I think is quite funny.

I’ve seen a lot of people online comparing this cover to Aphex Twin. What were some of the inspiration points for you guys directly? Were there certain things you were pulling from or things you had in mind?

It sounds so basic, but I think a lot of artists and musicians do this. I just went on a big Pinterest binge and collated a lot of images that, for me, evoked the same kind of emotion to what we would eventually create as the album cover. There were some images of jewelry made out of teeth. Teeth jewelry is so pretty, but it’s also grotesque. Just a collection of images that were sugary, sweet, and also disgusting.

An exciting thing about this cover in particular is that it’s one of the first album covers ever to get nominated for the new Grammy category. I assume you’re excited about that?

When the nominations came out, I was so shocked and so stoked because it’s just mad to be nominated in that category, alongside the other nominees who are just like, so legit. I really, really, really love making music, but I really do enjoy making the music videos and making the visuals and getting to collaborate with other people on that. I think it’s so important, especially nowadays, where you’re all on your screen, so you see the visual first and the music second.

So how did you first come across Iris’ work, and what made you want to work with Iris in terms of, like, I know that they can create the cover for this and they can realize what I have in mind?

I first came across their work just scrolling on Instagram, like Instagram is such a great tool for finding people to work with on a visual scale, yeah. And I didn’t know that I wanted her to shoot the album cover. I just knew that I wanted to work with her in some capacity. Originally, we just planned to do some press shots together, because I didn’t know what the album cover would be at this point. And we were moving really fast because we were just so desperate to get rid of the curse of the second album, like, just get it out. We just needed to get it done quickly so people would stop asking us about it. Everything was just moving so quickly at this point. We had the press shoot booked in before we had anything for the album cover, because I didn’t even know that it was necessarily going to be photography-based. We were considering different artists, people who work in drawing and painting mediums. We went away for the weekend, and it just very spontaneously happened.

With any photo shoot you take a lot of photos, were there any other options that were close contenders, that you thought maybe could be the cover?

No, not from the photo shoot. We knew this would be the one.

What gave you that, that certainty, like, “Yeah, this is definitely going to be it?”

I was just excited. I was excited to show my friends, like I was excited to show my school friends. And I think that’s always a really good litmus test of whether something is good or not. I think for me,even with the album as well, like, even with making music, if I’m not excited to show it to my friends from school, or if I’m a little bit on edge, makes me feel shy or a little bit uncomfortable, then it’s probably good to go.

Why do you feel that way, that if something makes you a little uncomfortable, that it’s something you should release?

I think it just means that you’re growing. That’s such a cliche of everyday life, like, “Oh, if you’re pushing yourself, if you’re making yourself feel a little bit uncomfortable, whether that’s making new friends, or going to a restaurant by yourself, it can help you grow as a person.” Like that is such a cliche, isn’t it? You go to therapy, they say, like, “Do this, and you will become a better person.” But I also think that, you know, with art and with making music, it holds some value there, as well.

You mentioned earlier this juxtaposition of light and dark, of funny and serious, containing these two things within the album cover. Why do you feel like you gravitate toward that juxtaposition? Why is that important for you?

I’ve been thinking about this recently, and maybe it’s something to do with gender in general, and being told that you are one thing. You’re kind of like, “This is what it means to be a man; this is what it means to be a woman.” That’s why I find juxtaposition so interesting. It’s an easy trick, as well, to make something interesting in a way. That’s something that we’ve always kind of unintentionally, unknowingly played with in Wet Leg. Even with our first release with “Chaise Longue,” there’s this feminine, kind of cottagecore aesthetic with the post-punk sound. That was just funny to me. That’s probably why I really enjoy that kind of visual language.

It’s like a way to resist a monolithic, rigid interpretation. It’s a way to make sure it’s, like you said, dynamic and interesting.

Monolithic… I wish I could use that word. I am so bad with words. You know, that’s why it’s so good writing songs, because you have, like, all the time in the world to choose your words. And then when people do interviews with me, they’re like, “What are you even saying right now?” Monolithic… [pulls out phone to Google the word] It’s funny because the first thing that comes up is formed of a large block of stone. And, like, yeah, OK, I get it: monolithic stones. OK, I’m gonna say it five times today.

It feels fitting, since you’re on tour: how does this cover and this imagery factor into your live shows and the wardrobes and the stage presence and all that fun stuff?

That’s been another really fun thing to have time to work on and think about with this campaign. Also, a really big shift for me personally is that I’m playing guitar on a lot less songs, so suddenly I’ve got this opportunity to use my whole body to tell the story of this collection of songs and feeling of the album as a whole, which has been challenging, but it’s been a really good challenge. Even with the live show as well, there is a lot of juxtaposition in the movement that I’m doing.

For example, the first song in our set we play “catch these fists.” It’s quite an upbeat kind of song. So you would think the movement for this first song that we play could be, you know, I could run on stage. I could be like, “Come on, let’s go!” and be jumping up and down and stuff. But I think the contrast between that song being so aggressive, but then the contrast of me walking very slowly forward. There’s a verse that’s like, “we’re on our way to the club,” and I’ve really been enjoying treating each verse like a different character. That verse is very girly and cute, and so I mirror that with my body. But then midway through, it switches.

What are some of the challenges as you’re learning to navigate this new stage presence?

Honestly just the mechanical, functional things have been quite a learning curve. And then, emotionally, the guitar is such a shield between me and the audience, and it’s such a safety net. It may not look like it when I’m up there and I’m doing my thing, but yeah, it has been very scary, but I love scaring myself, apparently.

Like what you were saying, if it feels unsafe, or if it feels it makes you feel uncomfortable, then let’s put it out there.

Yeah, because it’s not gonna kill me, and I’m gonna die anyway, so I might as well scare myself. It is a safe environment for me to do that.

I know you want to rest before the show tonight, but just looking back at this album cover, what are you most happy about with it?

I just love it. From what I can see, people are quite torn about it. Some people really hate it and think, “What the hell is this? It’s horrible; it’s stupid.” And some people really love it and are really kind. I’ve seen pictures with people holding their album and assuming the same crouching, demonic position. It’s weirdly relatable to want to do that and want to be this horrible, disgusting creature but also be really cute and pretty at the same time. A lot of people can, without really even probably realizing it, relate to it. Deep down, everyone is a freak.

Grant Sharples is a writer, journalist and critic. His work has also appeared in Interview, Uproxx, Pitchfork, Stereogum, The Ringer, Los Angeles Review of Books, and other publications. He lives in Kansas City.