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Can a self-portrait be a collage? Can empathy be autobiographical?
What’s the point of living if we’re not trying to understand all the
horror and humor that surrounds everything? These are a few of
the questions lurking under the bleachers of Wednesday’s new
album Bleeds, an intoxicating collection of narrative-heavy
Southern rock that—like many of the most arresting passages from
the North Carolina band’s highlight reel so far—thoughtfully
explores the vivid link between curiosity and confession.Bleeds is not only the best Wednesday record—it’s also the most
Wednesday record, a patchwork-style triumph of literary allusions
and outlaw grit, of place-based poetry and hair-raising noise. Karly
Hartzman—founder, frontwoman, and primary lyricist—credits
Wednesday’s tightened grasp on their own identity to time spent
collaborating on previous albums, plus a tour schedule that’s been
both rewarding and relentless. “Bleeds is the spiritual successor to
Rat Saw God, and I think the quintessential ‘Wednesday Creek
Rock’ album,” Hartzman said, articulating satisfaction with the ways
her band has sharpened its trademark sound, how they’ve refined
the formula that makes them one of the most interesting rock
bands of their generation. “This is what Wednesday songs are
supposed to sound like,” she said. “We’ve devoted a lot of our lives
to figuring this out—and I feel like we did.”Just like Rat Saw God, one of the defining rock & roll records of the
2020s so far, Bleeds came together at Drop of Sun in Asheville and
was produced by Alex Farrar, who’s been recording the band since
Twin Plagues. Hartzman again brought demos to the studio, where
she and her bandmates—Xandy Chelmis (lap steel, pedal steel),
Alan Miller (drums), Ethan Baechtold (bass, piano), and Jake “M.J.”
Lenderman (guitar)—worked as a team to bulk-up the
compositions with the exact right amounts of country truth-telling,
indie-pop hooks, and noisy sludge.
More than ever, the precise
proportions were steered by the lyricism—not only its tone or
subject matter, but also the actual sound of the words, as well as
Hartzman’s masterfully subjective approach to detail selection.Every image or scene is filtered through Hartzman’s agile, writerly
brain. The particulars deemed essential all contain revelations
about Hartzman’s specific obsessions and vulnerabilities, about the
fragmented way she processes the world.
Maybe sometimes the
best way to locate truth or pain or dignity within your own life story,
Bleeds suggests, is by crawling into someone else’s.
