100%WET are a new project from Copenhagen, Denmark, a genreless duo comprised of Jakob Birch (guitars, production) and Casper Munns (guitars, production, vocals). If you had to define it, their sound would fall somewhere in the middle of a venn diagram with intersections of hyper-pop, vaporwave, psych-pop, pretty shoegaze, and alternative/grunge. Coining themselves as “hypergaze” is about as accurate as you can be; while 100%WET are guitar heavy, they also focus on electronic production, dreamy vocals, and energetic drum-and-bass-inspired beats. Their boundary breaking style is echoed in the ethereal artwork of their upcoming self-titled album.
“We felt there was a missing bridge between the rock influences we grew up with and the energy of electronic music production”, says Birch. “We’re not interested in abandoning the guitar or the rock-band format, but we also don’t want to simply recycle it. We exist in a time where genre boundaries have completely dissolved, and we’re trying to create our own sound alphabet – where past and present coexist.”
“Leave It” is about moving on, but remembering to not abandon nostalgia. Collaborator Amalie Hannibal Petri contributed her soft vocals over the electronic guitars on the track to create a dreamy soundscape. While “Leave It” initially has the impression of a dream pop song, it evolves with heavier tones and unconventional production choices that keep you engaged, wondering which direction it will go next. This sound continues into the next track, “Lost Myself,” which incorporates more drum-and-bass elements as the song develops.
“Ether” starts by sounding like a collab between George Clanton and Fever The Ghost. It has that vaporwave bass underlick, with bright and quirky vocals, creating an intriguing seesaw that is topped off with some grungy shoegaze elements in the second half of the song. The EP collection closes out with “Over Me,” a drum-and-bass-centric, electronic-leaning track that has probably the fastest BPM of the four songs. It still gathers texture in the chorus, when the beat drops down and the radiant vocals come in.
Leave It EP is released ahead of 100%WET’s debut self-titled album, out May 16th on Crunchy Frog Recordings. Pre-order available here.
Listen to Leave It EP below:
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