Spotlight: Wet — Still Run

American indie duo Wet released their second album Still Run last week, a pleasant follow up to their first album Don’t You, which was released in 2016 and contained their best-known song I Don’t Wanna Be Your Girl.

Wet makes the sort of music that is difficult to put into one category. Online, they are described as Pop, Indie and R&B; some reviews paint them as different and alternative; others as part of ‘The New Boring’, a phrase used to box in adult-contemporary vocalists throughout the years. The album opens with a track of the same name. Still Run begins with lead vocalist Kelly Zutrau’s hauntingly beautiful voice singing of running away, and features Starchild & The New Romantic, who is known for his work with Blood Orange, Solange and Chairlifts. It is the first sign of growth from their previous work, accompanied by an acoustic guitar instead of the synth-heavy backing used throughout Don’t You and their 2013 self-titled EP.

If you’re not a gauzy, slow, break-up song person, or a fan of Wet, the album may be lost on you initially. To the untrained ear, the subtle change in mood with each new song might be unnoticable; the story behind each single hidden.

The memoir behind the music reads a little like a 21st century Fleetwood Mac saga — a gentler version of the Nicks/Buckingham break up with which fans were enamored so many years ago. Zutrau and the group’s other member, Joe Valle, were a couple when Wet began, but split during a period of conflict which also resulted in the departure of the former third member.

While Still Run may not be a complex and life-changing compilation of work, there is a sense of intimacy between artist and listener present throughout, communicated by the softness — yet, at the same time, the power — in Zutrau’s voice, and the ethereal vibe that the group have become known for.