Country is working its way into the alternative scene, with groups like Wednesday proving it’s making some of the most compelling music. Hailing from Asheville, North Carolina, its newest record, “Bleeds,” is a masterclass in what some are calling countrygaze, blending subgenres of Southern Gothic and shoegaze into something captivating and new. After the success of the band’s lead guitar player MJ Lenderman’s recent solo career, he came back to record this album with the band, reeling in excitement from listeners of his solo work. Though unconventional in its hybrid country blend, the record will leave you buckling up your cowboy boots while jumping in a mosh pit.
Released on Sept. 19, “Bleeds” takes a dive into frontwoman Karly Hartzman’s characteristically dark lyricism. The band first released the single “Elderberry Wine” in May. Though a sweet-sounding song with softness in Hartzman’s voice, the track’s lyrics are heartbreaking. The elderberry fruit is known for its healing qualities, but Hartzman stresses that it can easily become a poison with the wrong measurements. She sings, “Even the best champagne still tastes like elderberry wine.” Hartzman’s idea of needing to avoid future harm is universally relatable and comes across sincerely in the acoustic track.
Alongside the album’s mellow tracks, there are moments of hardcore passion that will leave listeners energized. The record opens with “Reality TV Argument Bleeds,” a track that starts with a building rhythm that erupts into screams of Hartzman accompanied by lush guitar. The song takes the listener in and out of a rage-filled world in only three minutes with eerie lyrics like, “Reality TV argument bleeds / Through the floor when I go to sleep / Walk over the wet boards of a wooden bridge / When I don’t feel like bein’ comforted.”
Another standout track, not only for its lively sound but its interesting story, is “Bitter Everyday.” Hartzman shared that it was inspired by a 2019 encounter where a woman approached Lenderman and a friend, asking to sing them a song. Hartzman soon learned that the woman was wanted for murder. “A street juggalo sang us a sweet song on the porch / When we lived downtown and whoever was near would come on up / Next week, we saw her on a poster stapled to a pole / She killed a guy and left the body laying by the road,” she sings. The lyricism shows Hartzman’s keen storytelling ability and how she humanizes characters in her life that most would overlook.
The record closes with some spirited twang on “Gary’s II.” Hartzman tenderly tells a story of an old landlord. The track has classic country drumming by Alan Miller and cheerful pedal steel to conclude on an all-American vibe. Given the band’s southern lineage, Wednesday’s music has always had bits and pieces of these rustic elements in its work. However, the noticeable rise of Americana alternative music has pushed its subtle country sound even further.
If any album can get listeners to appreciate the Southern country feel, it is “Bleeds.” Wednesday portrays the cultural experience honestly through stark lyricism and traditional influences in the instrumentation. Like a wound that’s finally healing, “Bleeds” shows the beauty in the pain and the strength in the scars.
Contact Caia Cupolo at [email protected].