"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. It was released alongside its

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

"Oh No" on 29 November 2021 through

Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called '' pips'' or ''dots'' ...

as the third single from their eponymous debut album. The following year, the song was remixed by Belgian electronic rock band

Soulwax Soulwax are a Belgian electronic band and DJ/production collective from Ghent, who formed in 1995. Centred around brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, other current members include Igor and Laima Cavalera, and Stefaan Van Leuven. The group first ...

. This version was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical at the

65th Annual Grammy Awards The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year – October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022 – as de ...

Background and composition

"Too Late Now" has been described as a

bait-and-switch Bait-and-switch is a form of fraud used in retail sales but also employed in other contexts. First, the merchant "baits" the customer by advertising a product or service at a low price; then when the customer goes to purchase the item, they disco ...

because it opens with a

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

that does not ignite. The song begins with a

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and a

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

before a simple kick beat is incorporated. Right before the first verse, the drums switch to a more complex pattern. It starts slowly and crescendos toward a satisfying climax. Chris DeVille of

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

called the track a "slow-building powerhouse". Different musical techniques are used throughout the song, including artificial reverb in the chorus and delay applied to the

snare drum The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...

. The instruments occasionally drop out so that the focus switches to the vocals. The songwriting is clear and simple, encapsulating the everyday life of adulthood. The duo's guitarist Hester Chambers provides

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

while main vocalist Rhian Teasdale performs the song with the same detached semi-speak technique she has been using for the band's previous singles. Ethan Spivey of WRLT said that "Too Late Now" is "

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

externally, but reads more like

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

music". Alisha Sweeney of KVOQ included it on the list of her ten favorite songs of 2022.

Promotion

The band performed the song during their Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, alongside " Chaise Longue", " Wet Dream" and "Oh No". Their performance was released on 1 December 2021. It intersperses

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

clips with footage captured on modern cameras, as a nod to their sound which is inspired by the 70s. They chose to perform "Too Late Now" on American TV for their appearance on ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known simply as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show that aired on CBS from 2015 to 2023. It is the fourth and final iteration of '' The Late Late Show'', and aired in the United Sta ...

'' on 31 March 2022.

Music video

The music video for "Too Late Now" was directed by Fred Rowson, unlike Wet Leg's first two music videos which were self-directed. In the video, which features

sci-fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

elements, both member of the duo are zapped onto the empty roof of a parking garage, quickly followed by three men. All dressed in spa robes, they wander in crowded streets and lush countrysides.

Soulwax remix

A remix of "Too Late Now" by Belgian electronic rock band

was released on 6 July 2022. It was also released as a

twelve-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl (polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compar ...

through Deewee on 22 July 2022. This version features

arpeggio An arpeggio () is a type of Chord (music), chord in which the Musical note, notes that compose a chord are individually sounded in a progressive rising or descending order. Arpeggios on keyboard instruments may be called rolled chords. Arpe ...

synths A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis an ...

, 808 drums and vocal chops. Tyler Golsen of '' Far Out'' thought that the Soulwax remix sounded more like a new song than a remix. He rated it 6.6/10, saying that the "only recognisable element of the original version of the song is Rhian Teasdale’s vocals, which are chopped up, pitch modulated, and transformed within an entirely new composition". Winnie Litchfield of ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' expressed the opposite feeling, stating that this remix gives the song a

tech house Tech house is a subgenre of house music that combines stylistic features of techno with house. The term ''tech house'' developed as a shorthand record store name for a category of electronic dance music that combined musical aspects of techno, ...

feel while keeping the original flavor of the song. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical at the

Charts

References

{{Wet Leg 2021 singles 2021 songs Domino Recording Company singles Wet Leg songs