Catch These Fists

Album: Moisturizer (2025)
Charted: 99
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Catch These Fists" is about the minefield that is a night out, where all you want to do is dance with your mates and soak in the basslines but instead end up dodging unsolicited come-ons like you're in some sort of hormonally charged obstacle course.
  • Wet Leg's Rhian Teasdale explained to BBC Radio 1's Jack Saunders how the song sprang from a real-life experience.

    "Me and my friends went to Chappell Ronan's gig at Brixton Academy, and it was amazing," she said. "And like everyone else in the crowd was just like, so lovely, and it's just like a very like safe space. And then afterwards, we went to a bar down the road, and just that kind of like ecstatic safe space feeling just completely dissolved as soon as we, like, set foot in this bar. So it was after that."
  • "Catch These Fists" was the last song added to Wet Leg's second album, Moisturizer. It began life as a casual demo by bassist Ellis Durand, and because there were no expectations attached, it morphed into the album's lead single.

    "Ironically, I think that lack of pressure is what made it click," Teasdale reflected to Apple Music. "We weren't chasing a 'comeback single,' we were just following what felt fun and instinctive."
  • Dan Carey (Foals, Fontaines DC) produced "Catch These Fists." Carey also helmed Wet Leg's self-titled debut album.
  • The music video, directed by the band, was filmed back home on the Isle of Wight. "We were just kind of having fun and exploring," said Teasdale.
  • Wet Leg first introduced the song live under the excellent pseudonym "Uma Thurman" during surprise shows in London and Brighton. Later, they brought it to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on April 3, 2025, where Teasdale donned a boxing-themed outfit that reflected the song's combative spirit.
  • Wet Leg prefer to make their music videos with friends rather than big-name directors. Sometimes, band members don't even know a shoot is happening until it's already begun. Their video for "Catch These Fists" was made that way - Rian quietly coordinated it and only later did others realize, "Wait, I think this is the video."
  • For the Moisturizer album, Wet Leg holed up in a house in Southwold, Suffolk, and commandeered a kids' playroom - complete with leftover Legos - as their writing space. They removed most of the toys, set up their gear, and worked in a fluid, come-and-go style, sometimes starting sessions at 1 a.m. and letting songs emerge organically.
  • Moisturizer was a turning point for Wet Leg: It was their first album with Josh Mobaraki (guitar), Ellis Durand (bass), and Henry Holmes (drums) as full-fledged members, after initially joining as touring members shortly after the band's formation.

    The transition into a five-piece happened naturally. "First it was me and Hester; we signed as a duo, and then we needed a touring band," Teasdale told Mojo magazine. "We asked our friends, and then we just played loads of shows together. It would feel kind of unnatural to keep the focus on just me and Hester. It's really important that we honor everyone and their contributions. Like, we're all doing the same amount of touring, and this album we all wrote together, it would just feel a bit off to erase them."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Graduation Songs

Graduation SongsFact or Fiction

Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?

Little Richard

Little RichardFact or Fiction

Was Long Tall Sally a cross-dresser? Did he really set his piano on fire? See if you know the real stories about one of rock's greatest innovators.

Bill Withers

Bill WithersSongwriter Interviews

Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."

Danny Clinch: The Art of Rock Photography

Danny Clinch: The Art of Rock PhotographySong Writing

One of rock's top photographers talks about artistry in photography, raising funds for a documentary, and enjoying a County Fair with Tom Waits.

Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders

Chrissie Hynde of The PretendersSongwriter Interviews

The rock revolutionist on songwriting, quitting smoking, and what she thinks of Rush Limbaugh using her song.

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."