Asheville band Wednesday have returned with their latest single ‘Wound Up Here (By Holdin On)’, taken from their newly announced upcoming album ‘Bleeds’, due 19th September via Dead Oceans.
If ‘Wound Up Here (By Holdin On)’ and its predecessor ‘Elderberry Wine’ are anything to go by, Wednesday’s upcoming album ‘Bleeds’ will be another masterclass in what the band calls “Creek Rock”. Due in September of this year, the record follows their critically acclaimed 2023 album ‘Rat Saw God’, of which they’ve named ‘Bleeds’ a “spiritual successor”.
Frontwoman and primary writer Karly Hartzman shared that the titular line “I wound up here by holdin on” was pulled from her friend Evan Gray’s poetry book Thickets Swamped in a Fence-Coated Briars. Considering the line “pure genius”, Hartzman built an entire song around the phrase, borrowing stories and lived experiences from some of her closest friends to do so. The result stays true to her typical songwriting style, it zooms into the smallest and often grimiest details to convey entire scenes or feelings, whether that be a “pitbull puppy pissin’ off the balcony” or the “puffy” face of a recently drowned man – the imagery is exposing and lived-in.
‘Wound Up Here (By Holdin On)’ harks back to the dynamic instrumentation Wednesday are known for. It moves between catchy country-pop hooks and heavy alt rock, hitting you with sudden moments of noise, distortion, and time signature changes. It’s a balance they have perfected across their records and live dates, and a line they will undoubtedly continue to walk.
Photo by Graham Tolbert
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