If this is your first experience with Wednesday, what a treat. Bleeds is an outstanding album, one which slots right into place as a menacing but meaningful classic. Years of perfecting what the band is meant to sound like lead to this. Founder Karly Hartzman has nailed it. Working away with a mixture of musicians and broad influences, Bleeds is the sum of all these band members’ parts, and what a collection it is. Wednesday has a vast and deep talent, a real understanding of tone which helps the band massively as they switch from roaring punk-like occasions to softer-spoken, shoegaze classics. It’s this balance which works best of all for the band, and Bleeds certainly sounds like the group has taken on a larger task, a tougher expectation of themselves. They get all that over the line and bring about one of the best albums of the year. You can hear all these influences compiled into one blissful occasion on Bleeds.
Harsh tones on opener Reality TV Argument Bleeds give way to a softer touch on the countrified, dance hall-like sway of Elderberry Wine. It’s a natural progression, which is crucial for Wednesday. This is not the band downing tools when they hit a wall with their creative process; it’s the love of a free-flowing style, which is comfortable in a multitude of genres. Elderberry Wine is a beauty. A song which hears out how nothing beats the home comforts, and Wednesday are right. True to themselves, true to the listener. That’s what Bleeds is. An artist in touch with their roots is, quite simply, worth listening to. Bleeds has a rapid tempo to it, even in its slowest moments. An experience like that is rare. You can sink into the first song and be nearly finished with the album before you know it. A gentleness to The Way Love Goes is inevitable but confidently performed, while violent suggestions of Pick Up That Knife are played with the same softness.
It’s a tremendous balance, and it’s clear to hear why Hartzman believes this is Wednesday at their best. Just when you think Bleeds is headed through a soft and likeable form, the heaviness of their noise rock bursts through, a reminder of the thrills Wednesday can make. The latter stages of Bleeds, with the shoegaze-like structure of Carolina Murder Suicide bring out a sharpness to the group which is endlessly returnable. You can take these songs on again and again; it’s a sign of great musicianship, which the band is keen to showcase. Bleeds is full of risks, and the rewards that come through, hearing the payoff to a tight lyrical observation or an out-there instrumental spot, are ludicrous. A tremendously consistent album is what Bleeds is, and that’s harder to come by than first thought.
Hartzman and the band have succeeded in making an album which stands as a perfect example of what they, as musicians, wish to define. A brilliant, balanced burst of those preceding strengths, but with an effort here that elevates the band. They are on that next level so many are incapable of hitting. Bleeds is as much a statement as it is a satisfying release, and rare is it that the two points of interest overlap. A complete powerhouse of a release, boasting instrumental strengths that surpass genre standards. Bleeds is a menacing release but when its softer touch is displayed, it’s hard not to feel completely moved by its completeness. That’s what matters most with Bleeds. The band are happy with their efforts, and those songs are, for the most part, very fulfilling. Storming through genre expectations and overhauling them with a unique flourish. Not everyone can do that as well as Wednesday.
