Wet

New York-based indie outfit Wet make glowing electro-acoustic pop, pairing fractured electronic beats and textures with piano, guitar, and the ethereal vocals of singer Kelly Zutrau. After exploring a dreamy ambient style on 2016′s Don't You, they changed tack for 2018′s Still Run with energized instrumentation and more commanding vocals. Wet’s sound continued to morph over the next few years with the folky “Old Bone” and hybrids like 2020′s “Come to You” and 2021′s “Larabar,” the latter of which was a highlight of their third album, Letter Blue. After a pair of 2022 EPs, Wet again focused on singles including 2024′s radiant “Double.” Formed in Brooklyn in 2012 by musicians Joe Valle and Marty Sulkow and singer Kelly Zutrau, Wet recorded a few casual demos together while they were all attending school in New York before Valle split for Los Angeles and Zutrau went to Rhode Island. The three friends reconvened in Brooklyn and began working in earnest on the material that would eventually feature on their debut EP. With Zutrau’s warm vocals and an affinity for ’90s R&B, they injected some quiet soul into their minimalist electronic indie pop. Their understated self-titled EP, a four-song collection of gentle breakup songs, was released by Neon Gold in October 2013 to immediate hype. A series of CMJ performances followed and they joined CHVRCHES for a string of shows as well. The nuanced singles “Deadwater” and “You’re the Best” were issued in 2015 as Wet prepared their debut album for Columbia. Don't You was released in early 2016, climbing to 76 on the Billboard 200. The single “The Middle” b/w “Turn Away” arrived later that year. In 2018, Wet returned as a duo after the departure of Sulkow, issuing the sun-washed, Americana-inspired single “There’s a Reason.” Incorporating chimes, strings, and percussion, the pair debuted the new sound on subsequent singles “Lately” and “You’re Not Wrong.” Produced by Rostam (HAIM, Solange), Andrew Sarlo (Big Thief), John Hill (Santigold, M.I.A.), and Valle himself, their sophomore effort, Still Run, arrived in the summer of 2018. Wet’s acoustic detour continued with 2019′s folky “Old Bone/Trust No Man” single and 2020 tracks like “This Fog” and “Come to You,” which mixed airy textural electronics with organic guitar and piano parts. The following year, Wet released the sleepy “On Your Side” and “Larabar,” showcasing the unique electro-acoustic hybrid that marked their third album, 2021′s Letter Blue. That album saw the return of Sulkow, who had rejoined the band earlier in the year. Among its other highlights was the Blood Orange collaboration “Bound.” A five-song companion EP, Letter Blue (Reprise), arrived in early 2022, followed by the Pink Room EP on Secretly Canadian. A 2023 single, “LLTB,” saw Wet collaborating with U.K. producer Jam City. The band returned in 2024 with the radiant “Double.” ~ Timothy Monger