Bleeds

Description

Can a self-portrait be a collage? Can empathy be autobiographical? And what to do with all the horror and humor that surrounds us? These questions haunt Bleeds, Wednesday's new album. A concentrated narrative of Southern rock where curiosity and confession intertwine with finesse. Undoubtedly their most accomplished record, Bleeds is also the most representative of Wednesday: a vibrant patchwork of poetry, fringe fury, and literary references. For Karly Hartzman, lead singer and songwriter, this maturity comes from studio experiences and a touring schedule that is as intense as it is demanding. "It's the spiritual successor to Rat Saw God, our most 'Creek Rock' record to date." Like Rat Saw God, Bleeds was recorded at Drop of Sun studio in Asheville with producer Alex Farrar. From Hartzman's demos, the band—Xandy Chelmis, Alan Miller, Ethan Baechtold, and Jake 'M.J.' Lenderman—refined the tracks between heartfelt country, melodic indie-pop, and raw saturation. The lyrics guide everything: their tone, their musicality, their obsessive details. Each image passes through Hartzman's literary sensibility. Bleeds suggests that to access one's own truth, pain, or dignity, one sometimes has to borrow the prism of others' stories.