By Fenton Wright, Web Services Coordinator
Artist: Wednesday
Album: Bleeds
Favorite Tracks: “Townies,” “Elderberry Wine,” “Pick Up That Knife,” and “Wasp”
For Fans of: Big Thief, Geese, Momma
Relationships Hurt…
Bleeds is the sixth album from country-folk rock band Wednesday. This is their first release in nearly two years. It consists of twelve tracks, and in this record, we hear Karly Hartzman grow as a singer from start to finish.
This album by Wednesday follows the release of band member MJ Lenderman’s new album, Manning Fireworks, last year. Lenderman’s album had many fans asking the question: What would be next for the band? The answer was to lean even more into the band’s lead singer, Karly Hartzman. On previous albums, the band takes a more traditional approach to indie rock. On Bleeds, Wednesday takes a refreshing approach akin to bands like Big Thief and Geese. They blend indie rock with country to create this powerful and emotional music that rivals anything else released this year.
And Sometimes They Bleed
The first song on Bleeds, we get the setup for the rest of the album. On “Reality TV Argument Bleeds,” we hear the singer lamenting her relationship with her boyfriend. She talks about how little he cares about their relationship and the harm it is doing to her. He doesn’t know how to help her, and he doesn’t care to try.
“Reality TV Argument Bleeds” sets up the next song of the album perfectly. “Townies,” the second song on Bleeds, describes the behavior of the singer’s boyfriend even further. He is reckless and doesn’t care about how his reputation affects her. In this song, the singer tries to explain to him the pain that he brings to her. In lines like, “Group of girls went around tellin’/ Everywhere you fooled around.”
A part of the concept for this album is the fallout of the relationship between band members Karly Hartzman and MJ Lenderman. This adds another layer to each song, because they obviously care for each other, but it didn’t work out. “Townies,” to me, is one of the best songs on the album because of that. Because she is trying so hard to understand him, it doesn’t work and leads to this toxic fallout.
The next song on the album, “Wound Up Here (By Holdin On),” furthers the story. Here we learn about everything that led to the current tension and strain in their relationship. The singer realizes that her entire life has stagnated because of her partner. By “holdin on,” she has wasted part of her life chasing something that never cared about her in the first place.
“Elderberry Wine,” the fourth track on the album, is the most beautiful song across Bleeds’ 37-minute run time. It has all the elements of every song on this album and combines them into one. If you’ve been keeping up to date with our blog, then you will have seen our Pick of the Week about “Elderberry Wine.” Outside of what has already been said, this song has so emotional depth to it outside of the lyrics. The bridge is sung by both Hartzman and Lenderman, which adds to the two-way nature of the relationship. To see even more about this song, follow the link to the Pick of the Week we wrote about it!
“Phish Pepsi” takes place after the end of their relationship. Hartzman is trying to see if her partner is having as much trouble getting over her as she is him. She sees him acting normal, which, in a way, breaks her. She sings about all of the things that they used to do together: watch movies and see concerts. Those are moments she can’t forget.
“Candy Breath,” to me, is about the “sweetness” or allure of someone’s words. Hartzman is singing about how she was, in a way, tricked into loving her partner because of all the things he used to say to her to make her feel loved. She talks about his “candy breath,” which seems like a metaphor for the lies that he told.
What this album does great is hide these powerful lyrics behind loud, raging instrumentals. This is amazing, because there are so many subtleties that you might miss on your first or second listen that change the entirety of songs once you pick up on them.
Love Turned Sour
“The Way Love Goes” acts as a sort of interlude for the album. It is the seventh song, and it is this calm moment of reflection outside of the chaos that has been the songs before and after. Here, Hartzman takes a moment to think about all the things that she could have done differently to make this relationship last. Ending with the simple phrase, “And I know it can’t always be easy/ And that’s the way love goes.”
“Pick Up That Knife” is kind of a manic episode that is caused by the toxicity in this relationship. Hartzman goes through so many different lines of thinking that, between her tooth being broken on a cough drop and the end of their relationship, she hates herself for not making it work.
The whiplash effect that this song has on the listener is a good one. It takes us through the range of emotions that she is constantly feeling. From being perfectly normal to all of a sudden dreading every single moment of the day. This is what makes “Pick Up That Knife” one of my favorite songs on the album.
The constant crescendo in sound and franticness continues into “Wasp,” the ninth song on the album. It is the cry for help in a way. It is a lament against everything that has ever happened to her. She talks about how she can feel her partner’s spirit with her at all times, and it is killing her. The direction of her life and how slow everything is developing is also, in a way, killing her.
“Bitter Everyday,” to me, sounds like a resignation of some kind. It almost sounds like she has completely given up on ever understanding why her partner views the world the way that he does. He views it with such disgust and bitterness that she simply can barely stand to be around him anymore.
“Carolina Murder Suicide” is a powerful ballad at the back half of the album. It details every feeling of grief perfectly. Everyone’s reaction is a form of numbness and sadness. The grief that envelopes them all breaks them, as Hartzman says in the song, and it seems to never go away.
The last song on the album, “Gary’s II,” serves as another way of grounding the story in a small town. Throughout the album, there has been a small-town feel to her romance with her partner. Telling a story like this at the end, to me, serves as another way to remind herself and the listener that this all takes place in North Carolina.
Tour When?
After such an amazing album, you are probably wondering when you can get to see it live. Luckily for us, Wednesday will be going on tour later this year! Lenderman will not be joining them, but it is sure to be a great show if you can make it!
