Led by singer-songwriter Karly Hartzman, Wednesday had a breakthrough with 2023’s album Rat Saw Good. Several months later, guitarist MJ Lenderman had an underground hit with his solo album Manning Fireworks. As he divides his time, Lenderman appears on Wednesday’s sixth album Bleeds but will not be touring with the band. On their newest album, Wednesday continues to mix a modern take on 90s indie rock with country, tied to a slacker vibe.
The stories that Hartzman sings on Bleeds are like ones taken from a podcast. A homeless woman with the sweetest voice wearing Juggalo make-up, the Murdaugh murders from the perspective of a neighbour, and her old landlord telling the craziest Appalachian stories. Around crashing guitars, “Wound Up Here (By Holdin’ On)” tells the story of a body being pulled out of a lake. Mixed into the serious and absurd is a re-recording of “Phish Pepsi” with the laugh out loud line – “We watched a Phish concert and Human Centipede/Two things I now wish I had never seen”. “Townies” looks back at the more hurtful rumours that spread about high school sex scandals.
A key aspect to the Wednesday sound is the steel/lap guitar played by Xandy Chelmis that adds a country dimension to the band’s sound, this is done to great effect on the excellent “Elderberry Wine”. The band does a fine job of telling the stories of the colourful people around them and amplifies their stories to a wider audience. Capturing the murkiness of the backwoods of North Carolina along the way.
7.5/10
The Light Appears 