On October 23, 2015, Columbus, Ohio-based quartet The Wet Darlings will celebrate the national release of their album, Beautiful Things, with a vinyl version; digital and CD versions will also be available. With music that straddles saccharine and grit, they’ll stick to the roof of your mouth, and perhaps make you want to brush your teeth. Bubblegum-sweet pop-rock hooks belie themes of salty emotion and lovelorn hangovers, with vocals that are a punch to the gut. These are breakup songs. Ken Stringfellow of The Posies has praised The Wet Darlings, saying, “What a voice! Holy Bejeezus.”
In the heart of a heart-shaped state, the band was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 2008. Guitarist Bill Patterson, who entered musical puberty via Van Halen and King Crimson, met singer Jenny Lute, who started a prodigious vocal career as a teen, belting out gospel standards in a rural Ohio church. The band is rounded out with genre-hopping percussionist Aaron Bishara and bassist/synth player Joe Patterson.
