"Ur Mum" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Wet Leg | ||||
from the album Wet Leg | ||||
Released | 4 April 2022 | |||
Studio | Dan Carey's studio | |||
Genre | Surf rock | |||
Length | 3:21 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Rhian Teasdale | |||
Producer(s) | Dan Carey | |||
Wet Leg singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Ur Mum" music video on YouTube |
"Ur Mum" is a 2022 single by Wet Leg. Released on 4 April 2022 as the last single from their debut album Wet Leg , the song is a diatribe directed at an ex-boyfriend and his mother, and received positive critical reception, particularly for its lyrical content and for its eleven-second scream and countdown to. It charted at No. 46 on the UK Independent Singles Chart, and was rated by Consequence as the 50th best song of 2022. It has also been performed several times in concerts.
On 2 September 2018, Rhian Teasdale sat on a ferris wheel at that year's End of the Road Festival with Hester Chambers, whom she had met before at Platform One College of Music on the Isle of Wight; [1] Chambers had previously played guitar on Teasdale's works, and Teasdale had previously played piano on Chambers's. Teasdale and Chambers formed Wet Leg while on the ferris wheel, [2] naming the band after closing their eyes, [3] shuffling through emoji combinations, and coming across one that happened to be a local term for an overner. [4] They recorded their eponymous debut album in full, [5] released a single, "Chaise Longue", and then released another single, "Wet Dream". On 29 November 2021, they released the double A-side "Too Late Now/Oh No" and announced that they would release their eponymous debut album on 8 April 2022. [6] They then released "Angelica", a song named after Teasdale's oldest friend. [7] Their entire debut album was recorded at Dan Carey's studio in London, with the exception of "Chaise Longue" and "Angelica". [5]
At 6pm on 4 April 2022, [8] they released "Ur Mum", a surf-rock inspired diss track, [9] which Teasdale wrote the evening after a day off from working as a wardrobe assistant, where she was working on a fast food advert; [10] she has stated that she wrote it after feeling "pretty angry at the way things had gone", that she wrote it to make herself feel better, and that doing so worked. [11] The song takes its title from the insult of the same name, [12] fires shots at both the slow pace of rural life and an arrogant ex-boyfriend, [13] and leads with the lyric "When I think about what you've become, I feel sorry for your mum,"; Teasdale later expressed regret at the "very mean" lyric, [3] and in July 2023, Douglas Richards, whose band Plastic Mermaids [14] co-developed Teasdale's 2018 solo single "Solid Gold", [15] used a much-criticised [note 1] article in The Sunday Times to accuse Teasdale of writing the song about him and his mother, Sue, [21] who had died of cancer in 2013 aged 62, just before he met Teasdale. [22] The song features an 11.02 second scream, [23] inspired by Teasdale's experiences of living above a London branch of the Psychedelic Society that ran scream therapy sessions at 7pm on Tuesdays, [24] and which is preceded by the lyric "Okay, I've been practicing my longest and loudest scream/Okay, here we go/One, two, three…". [25]
A music video was released for the single. Directed by Lava La Rue, using their [26] alias Lavaland, they has stated that they directed it while finishing their own EP Hi-Fidelity, [27] that it took them a "couple of months" and that they was inspired by spending time including Christmas 2021 living on the Isle of Wight with the band and their eponymous llama, and likened their her time there to an episode of Napoleon Dynamite that had been set on a British Isle. [28] The video contains several references to other Wet Leg songs and in-jokes, [13] and takes place somewhere in the land of Leg. Scotty, played by Tommy Villiers, [29] walks into Angelica's supermarket, while playing "Oh No" on his Walkman. He knocks a carton of "Ur Mum" branded milk off the shelf, which bursts, and forms "Wet Leg" on the floor. He picks up a The Village Press newspaper with "Record breaking: Loudest and longest scream ever recorded by Isle of White locals"[ sic ] as its headline, [30] tries to underpay Fanny the cashier, played by Teasdale, plugs his band Scotty and the Softboys' gig later that day at the county hall, tells Fanny she would look better without lipstick on, and slips over his spilt milk, which HC the shelf-stacker, played by Chambers, was in the middle of cleaning.
Scotty gets up and goes home. His mother, played by Valerie Hazan, hands him a washing basket, which he takes upstairs, disregards, and turns on his television, to find Fanny and HC playing on it, reminding him that his Softboys are playing, prompting him to get up. He tries to check himself in his bathroom mirror, only to see Fanny and HC behind him laughing, and then walks through a park to his band's camper van, seeing Fanny and HC again, though looks again and sees a different couple. His band takes off, seeing Fanny and HC trailing on bicycles. When the band arrive at the county hall, they find Wet Leg performing in their place, prompting Scotty to begin performing as Fanny. At the end of the video, Scotty wakes up to find Fanny and HC standing over him, still at the supermarket, asking if he was alright, and pointing out that he had been "out for three minutes, twenty two seconds". [31] The video was nominated for Best Rock Video - Newcomer at the 2022 UK Music Video Awards, [32] and won Video of the Year at the Libera Awards. [33]
The day after release, the song was declared BBC Radio 1's "Hottest Record"; [34] they would later nominate it for "Hottest Record of the Year". [35] The song spent a week at No. 46 on the UK Independent Singles Chart. [36] Robin Murray of Clash found the song "impetuous" and complimented the song's combination of "pointed vocals" and "odd psychedelic elements in the guitar line", [37] while David Smyth of the Evening Standard, while reviewing the album, noted that when screaming, Teasdale sounded "like a girl at the top of a rollercoaster but also like someone who just won't stand for any more nonsense". [38] Cassie Fox of Louderthanwar.com complimented the song's "excellent handclaps in the chorus, potty mouth (You're always so full of it / Yeah why don't you just suck my dick), and full throat screaming finale", [39] while Bobby Olivier of Spin complimented the song's "St. Vincent-like sense of playful assuredness", and described her "piercing, primal shriek" as "a fine successor to Phoebe Bridgers' guttural howl" on "I Know the End". [40] Alex Rigotti of Gigwise found its "blood-curdling, demon-exorcising scream" and its countdown to be "one of the most entertaining moments" of the album. [41] In addition, Consequence rated the song as the 50th best song of 2022, [42] while Far Out listed it as one of "20 great songs that didn't make [their] '50 Best Songs of 2022' list". [43]
On 16 May 2022, they performed "Wet Dream" and "Ur Mum" on Later... with Jools Holland . [44] Mark Beaumont of The Independent, reviewing their Glastonbury Festival 2022 set, said that the "spiteful" track "could be a chant-along from Glastonbury's peak Britpop years, ricocheting along like Damon Albarn and Justine Frischmann were still mid-breakup". [45] When performing the song live, the music usually pauses for audiences to chime in with their own screams; when performing at Glastonbury Festival 2022, Teasdale was taken aback by the audience's 23 second scream, [46] while Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian, who described the song as "consist[ing] of nothing but hooks and provid[ing] the night's big set piece", noted that at the band's November 2022 appearance at O2 Forum Kentish Town, there was "a full 30 seconds before [the music] slams back in", and described the experience as "cathartic, ecstatic and ridiculous all at once". [47] The Financial Times' Ludovic Hunter-Tilney also reviewed the gig, found the scream to be "absurdly elongated", and noted that she used her appearance "orchestrate[ it] into a mass hullabaloo, a drawn-out moment of pantomime catharsis". [48] The band performed it at Coachella 2023, which featured a scream from Dave Grohl. [49]
Digital single
Chart (2022) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Independent Singles Chart [36] | 46 |
Region | Date | Format | Artist | Label |
---|---|---|---|---|
Various | 4 April 2022 | Wet Leg | Domino Recording Company |
Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie (guitar). The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drums).
The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 was a music festival held between 26 and 30 August 1970 at Afton Down, an area on the western side of the Isle of Wight in England. It was the last of three consecutive music festivals to take place on the island between 1968 and 1970 and often acknowledged as the largest musical event of its time, with a larger attendance than Woodstock. Although estimates vary, Guinness World Records estimated 600,000 to 700,000 people attended. It was organised and promoted by local brothers, Ron and Ray Foulk through their company Fiery Creations Ltd and their brother Bill Foulk. Ron Smith was site manager and Rikki Farr acted as compere.
The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970.
N.E.R.D. was an American rock and hip hop band, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1994. The Neptunes were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin. After producing songs for several artists throughout the late 1990s, the duo formed the band with Shay Haley as a side project band of The Neptunes in 1994. N.E.R.D.'s debut album, In Search Of..., sold 603,000 copies in the United States and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was also awarded the second annual Shortlist Music Prize. The band's second album, Fly or Die, sold 412,000 copies in the United States, but shipped at least 500,000 units, certifying it Gold.
Kasabian are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and second vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karloff left the band in 2006 and founded a new band called Black Onassis. Jay Mehler joined as touring lead guitarist in 2006, leaving for Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye in 2013, to be replaced by Tim Carter, who later became a full-time band member in 2021. Meighan left the band in July 2020, with Pizzorno stepping up as full-time lead vocalist.
Reef are an English rock band from Glastonbury whose members include Gary Stringer on vocals, Amy Newton on guitar, Jack Bessant on bass, and Luke Bullen on drums.
As an island, the Isle of Wight maintains a culture close to, but distinct from, that of the south of England. A high proportion of the population are now 'overners' rather than locally born, and so with a few notable exceptions it has more often formed the backdrop for cultural events of wider rather than island-specific significance.
The Pierces are an American pop rock duo consisting of sisters Allison and Catherine Pierce.
Lewis Marc Capaldi is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. He was nominated for the Critics' Choice Award at the 2019 Brit Awards. Capaldi also won the 2020 Brit Award for Best New Artist. In March 2019, his single "Someone You Loved" (2018) topped the UK Singles Chart where it remained for seven weeks, and in November 2019, it reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100; it was nominated at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and won the 2020 Brit Award for Song of the Year. "Someone You Loved" was the bestselling single of 2019 in the UK. In May 2020, it was announced that Capaldi's song "Someone You Loved" had become the longest-running top 10 UK single of all time by a British artist.
Lauran Amaly Hibberd is an English singer-songwriter from the Isle of Wight.
Wet Leg are a British indie rock group from the Isle of Wight, founded in 2019 by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers. They debuted with the single "Chaise Longue" in 2021. Their self-titled debut album debuted in 2022 at number one on the UK Albums Chart, Australia's ARIA Albums Chart and the Irish Albums Chart. The album was shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize. At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, Wet Leg won Best Alternative Music Album for their debut and Best Alternative Music Performance for "Chaise Longue", and were nominated for Best New Artist. They also won Best New Artist and Best British Group at the 2023 Brit Awards.
Rhian Louise Teasdale is an English musician. Born in Formby, she moved to the Isle of Wight aged eight and then to Bristol for her music career. Between 2016 and 2018, she released several singles as Rhain including "Solid Gold", which was developed with Plastic Mermaids. In 2018, she formed Wet Leg with Hester Chambers, who released the UK singles chart entries "Chaise Longue" and "Wet Dream" in 2022 and the UK Albums Chart topper Wet Leg in 2023. The year after that, she featured on Orlando Weeks's "Dig". Her voice has been compared with Kate Bush, Björk, and Joanna Newsom.
"Chaise Longue" is the debut single by English rock duo Wet Leg, released through Domino Recording Company on 15 June 2021 as the lead single from their eponymous debut album (2022). The song went viral in 2021, having had millions of streams and video views, and it won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.
"Wet Dream" is a song by English indie rock duo Wet Leg. It was written by singer-guitarists Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, along with guitarist Joshua Mobaraki, and produced by Dan Carey. It was released through Domino on 28 September 2021 as the second single from their debut album Wet Leg.
Wet Leg is the debut studio album by British rock duo Wet Leg, released on 8 April 2022 by Domino. It was promoted by the viral hit "Chaise Longue", followed by the singles "Wet Dream", "Too Late Now", "Oh No", "Angelica", and "Ur Mum". The album received acclaim from music critics, topped the charts in Australia and the United Kingdom, and entered the top ten charts in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand. It was shortlisted for the 2022 Mercury Prize and it won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards and nominated for Album of the Year at the 2023 Brit Awards.
"Too Late Now" is a song by English indie rock duo Wet Leg. It was written by both members of the band, Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, with bassist Michael Champion. As for most of their debut album, the track was produced by Dan Carey.
James Dale is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and entrepreneur, best known as the frontman for Goldheart Assembly.
"Soft Spot" is a liquid drum and bass song, first released independently on 4 June 2021, where it was credited to Piri. After she paid six TikTok creators to promote the song, the song was used in a video of a creator making a Japanese bench, which caused the song to go viral on that platform. Around this time, the track went viral on Spotify after featuring on the platform's "Fresh Finds" playlist. For this, EMI signed her and her producer Tommy Villiers and re-released the track under the name Piri & Tommy Villiers. The song appeared on the pair's 2022 mixtape Froge.mp3.
Thomas George Villiers is an English musician from Saffron Walden. After being introduced to dance music via his brother, he began producing drum and bass tracks and uploading them to SoundCloud. While at the Royal Northern College of Music, he joined See Thru Hands and cofounded Porij, with whom he released one and two EPs respectively. In mid-2020, he formed Piri & Tommy with Piri, with whom he released the mixtape Froge.mp3, which they promoted with Froge.tour, and several singles including "Soft Spot", "Beachin", "On & On", "Feel It", "Updown", and "Nice 2 Me". He also played Scotty in the music video for Wet Leg's "Ur Mum" and has released several singles including a remix of LF System's "Afraid to Feel".
Aiwa or Ava Laurel, better known by their stage name Lava La Rue, is a British-Jamaican musician and director from West London. They are the founder and creative director of NiNE8 collective.