Wednesday’s sixth studio album announces them as creative alchemists, transforming the emotional wreckage of relentless touring throughout 2024 and the dissolution of vocalist Karly Hartzman and guitarist MJ Lenderman’s romantic relationship into their best work yet. Lenderman’s presence looms large across these 12 tracks, many written before the split but prescient in capturing the entropy of romance.
‘Bleeds’ erupts volcanically with Reality TV Argument Bleeds, abandoning choruses entirely for four verses of pedal steel-fuelled grunge-punk storytelling interchanged with explosive, feedback-drenched catharsis. It’s an opening statement that screams ‘90s, so much so that if ‘Bleeds’ came out back then, Wednesday would’ve easily been headlining Reading.
Hartzman's lyrics cut deeper than ever before, as if her emotions seeped into her characters. Townies distorts the butterfly effect from small-town gossip into life-changing karma.
“Met you in the neighbourhood you had / Connects to get us high and then/ You sent my nudes around,” Hartzman sings, before delivering the killer blow: “You...died, died.” Meanwhile, Elderberry Wine uses the metaphor of poisonous berries transformed into wine to examine how even the sweetest love can soon sour.
Lenderman’s guitar work proves essential to the album’s emotional impact. His muscular riffs anchor the grunge-addled Wound Up Here (By Holdin On), while the minute-and-a-half explosion Wasp — essentially Wednesday tie-dyed in hardcore punk aggression — showcases the way combustibility can walk hand in hand with musical compatibility.
What elevates ‘Bleeds’ into modern classic territory, though, is how it channels personal dissolution into universal truth. Like ‘Rumours’ or ‘Brand New Eyes’ recorded in a North Carolina dive bar, Wednesday have created their masterpiece from life’s messiest chapters. The honeymoon phase always ends, reality settles in, and sometimes that’s where the greatest art begins.
Wednesday Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Mon February 23 2026 - BRISTOL Fleece
Tue February 24 2026 - LEEDS Leeds Irish Centre
Wed February 25 2026 - LONDON Electric Ballroom
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