Wet – Still Run

Pain and growth in a genre-blending album

Still Run, the second album by Wet, is a breakup album in more than one sense. Since their debut, they have lost a band member (guitarist Marty Sulkow), and the two remaining members (vocalist/writer Kelly Zutrau and producer Joe Valle) have gone through a romantic breakup with each other. In their earlier work, Wet was labeled as an R&B band, but with Still Run, they sway more toward folksy indie pop with country and R&B influence. Each track is anchored with strong emotions, and Zutrau’s sweet voice pairs with excellent production and arrangement to craft a solid album. 

The album opens with the title track and Zutrau crooning the cliche lyric, “I wanna go where the sun is shining / And no-one knows my name.” The song is lilting; strings and background vocal harmonies lend the song substantial feeling. The featured line in the song seems to reference the Zutrau/Valle romantic breakup: “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done / To love somebody and still run.” “There’s A Reason” follows, with a beat and chord structure that are pretty solidly indie-pop, but it features a guitar tone that provides the country undercurrent found throughout the album. Again, the lyrics seem to reference the Zutrau/Valle relationship, this time pointing toward their artistic reconciliation: “There’s a reason / You’re by my side again.” The next track, “You’re Not Wrong,” delivers retro vibes, and Zutrau’s voice is delightful under some distortion. One of two tracks produced by Rostam Batmanglij (formerly of Vampire Weekend, among many other notable projects), this is a high point on the album with a refreshing sound and very strong chorus. 

“Lately” follows and delivers the strongest hit of the R&B that Wet had been labeled with. Another strong track on the album, the lyrics here focus on Zultrau’s feelings about her lack of earlier recognition for being the main creative voice of Wet, a conflict that led ex-bandmate Sulkow to depart. Zultrau is pretty direct when she vocalizes, “You never like how my songs sound, but you never give something of yourself.” With “This Woman Loves You,” Wet commits once again to a twangy folk-pop sound reminiscent of The Dixie Chicks. Between the distinct instrumentation, the vocal stylings and the lyrical choices (“This woman loves you / From sea to shining sea”), it seems Wet have dared to make a country song despite their demographic’s usual distaste for the genre. Luckily, it’s a sound that works well for them. The album closes on the hauntingly poetic “Love Is Not Enough,” a beautiful piano ballad that showcases the truly magical synergy between Zultrau and Valle, with the production perfectly filling out the song while making the most of Zultrau’s vocals. 

Still Run is a great album overall. Wet makes beauty from their pain, showing that love never truly dies and that the drive to create art can be strong enough to bridge difficult personal gaps. Zultrau has a magnificent voice that would make sense over any genre of music, and her and Valle’s talents mesh superbly. Though a heavily emotional album, Still Run provides enough peppy tracks to create a fully satisfying listen.