When Wednesday first came to Aotearoa off the back of Rat Saw God, they converted just about everyone who showed up. A sold-out night at Whammy in Auckland left the room buzzing — and the kind of word-of-mouth that follows a show like that tends to linger. Now Banished Music and Strange News are bringing them back for three dates this May, and this time the room is going to be a lot fuller.
They return with Bleeds, their sixth album and by some distance the most acclaimed record of their career. The Guardian called it the year’s best alt-rock album. Pitchfork gave it an 8.7 and Best New Music. NME handed it five stars and called it one of the best rock records in years. The Times gave it five stars and described it as “an exorcism of sound.” That is, by anyone’s measure, a remarkable set of notices for a band who operate so defiantly on their own terms.
Fronted by the fierce and funny Karly Hartzman, whose songwriting manages to be simultaneously confessional and hilarious, Wednesday are built around blown-out distortion, weirdo-country slide guitar and the kind of serrated melodies that stick around long after the song has finished. Live, they’re something else — Hartzman joined by Xandy Chelmis on lap and pedal steel, Alan Miller on drums, bassist Ethan Baechtold and touring guitarist Jake Pugh. Five people making a genuinely enormous noise together, with an ease and joy that makes every show feel like something special.
If you caught them last time, you already know. If you didn’t — now’s the time.