Hydration station _{by Madelaine Empson}

When Wet Denim – christened for the moment the band’s friend and former flatmate Katie came home and proclaimed ‘wet denim!’ after getting caught in a downpour that soaked through her favourite pair of jeans – was in a small town on tour in the South Island, they stopped in at an op shop.

“Outside this shop was a dog bowl emblazoned with ‘Water For Dogs’”, Wellington rockers Nick Goodwin, Luca Crampton, and brothers Jack and Joe Ledword say. “Collectively we thought it was a cool name for something, we just didn’t know what yet. We kept the name in our back pocket, saving it for the right batch of songs, which then revealed themselves as this EP.”

Water For Dogs is officially out in the world now, but when I spoke with Wet Denim, it was one week before the release date of the 17^th of September.

“We are excited to say the least. This project has been in the works for the better part of two years and it’s an amazing feeling to have the final product so close to being out in the world!”

Hydrating Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland with Water For Dogs this spring, Wet Denim will play San Fran on Saturday the 26^th of September.

“Our hometown celebration at San Fran will be a special night for sure. It’s one of the Wellington venues where we cut our teeth as a band, so it feels good to bring it back there for this occasion that means a lot to us!”

Pushing their sound in a refreshed rock direction while retaining the pulsating energy that defines their live shows, the EP is Wet Denim’s most ambitious and expansive yet. Come sate your thirst!