1/15/26
“Off I-40…Crawled into your life, begging on my knees, and I get it now…”, front-woman Karly Hartzman cries in her catch-up town song “Townies”. A critically acclaimed Asheville, North Carolina band, Wednesday, is pushing itself to the edge as Hartzman places herself into a vulnerable state of expression and makes listeners face her experienced reality in the 2025 album, Bleeds. Hartzman’s audience doesn’t just listen to the music she makes with her band; they fully experience Karly’s small southern town life by listening to her raw and melodic storytelling, and ultimately end up feeling as if they have been through her life themselves.
Bleeds by Wednesday is a masterpiece that isn’t asking for attention; it expects it casually. Karly’s depth within her lyricism can grab you by the ankles and pull you deep into an ocean of emotion, allowing you to feel the wave of the ache, not just any, but only hers. The feelings get injected into your veins, giving you an experience that you never knew music could give. Hartzman’s way with words pulls one with patience, knowing that pain will always win in the end. The record Bleeds is steeped in the textures of alt-country, hardcore, slow-core, twang, and indie rock, ensuring that every audience can get a taste of Hartzman’s heart and mind and the insane amount of range she can execute without fault.
What one must realize and acknowledge is that the real power and influence of the album lies in how unguarded it presents itself to the world. Listening to Bleeds is equivalent to snooping into one’s diary and reading all the pages, and leaves you with not just a new perspective but something you can resonate with. Who would’ve thought that you can connect with someone you never really knew too much about?
Reflecting on the song “Townies” musically, it leaned into a slow, moody country that went to a more rough creek-rock sound that mirrored the lyrical content. The sound of the drums ( Alan Miller), guitar (Karly Hartzman/ MJ Lenderman), pedal steel (Xandy Chelmis), and bass (Ethan Baechtold) were restrained and subtle, which was perfect to allow Hartzman’s vocals carry the weight of her song-storytelling approach. With the rhythm and sound intact, the upbeat quietness amplified the song’s emotional impact.
Hartzman’s “Townies” doesn’t shove you into a thorn bush, leave you to bleed and scream trauma at you; it just bumps into you, and you let it happen with grace and acceptance. It lets us know that we must acknowledge memories and accept the fact that they can linger in our minds, much like the memories in the lyrics.
Wednesday’s “Townies” is a haunting yet nostalgic dive into the cultural intersections of early life living in a town that was way too small, to the point that it leaves you knowing that there is a tension between the world of resentment and nostalgia. “Townies” is a bit unsettling as it doesn’t try to impress you. It doesn’t dress up the pain and paint a fake face to show everyone; it makes one just have to sit with what happened and deal with it. Post- “Townies”, I didn’t realize how much it had affected me until the song had ended. I was lying in bed soaking up Hartzman’s stories, and sitting with them made me think to the point where I had realized that anyone could be haunted by memory, even if we try to drown them with the water in our minds. It strangely settled within me, as it felt uncomfortably familiar yet comforting.
The opening lines, Karly sang “ Catching up with the townies/ Some have gone, but most are still around/ The ghost of them surround me” immediately place one into an off-putting mental space where you can leave a place, but even if you try to erase it completely, it will feel closer than it should really be. Knowing the feeling eerily well enough, certain names, streets, visuals, or memories can pull one back to a place they didn’t want to think about, without any prior warning. Again, leaving a place behind doesn’t entirely mean that it has truly left you.
What especially makes “Townies” hit the heart is its refusal to dramatize the things that’ve happened. Hartzman’s breathy lyrics, “ You sent my nudes around/ I never yelled at you about it,” capture composure and how easily rage can be tossed aside like nothing. No fury was to be found or located in her delivery, no trace at all. Though within her undetected rage, the quietness of her pain feels real, and it is fully recognized. It reminded me that sometimes one never fully confronts what happens; half the time, it just absorbs, and there is a push to just keep on going. When it comes to being young, sometimes one might not have the time or be in the correct mindset to develop and take in what it is or what has occurred.
The second verse expands the song-storytelling into a perspective that is broader yet painfully identifiable, which illustrates how quickly stories can circulate in small towns, how reputation is permanent and never really changes. I couldn’t help but wonder why certain versions of ourselves (good or bad) get frozen and loiter in the memories of others, even if there’s personal development and growth.
No matter how many times someone can change ( genuinely or not), a town will rarely ever update the narrative.
If there’s anything I appreciate about “Townies” is how ordinary the song felt. There was a visual description of bonfires, leaf blowers, girls, and local parties. Yet it wasn’t anything cinematic at all, which is the entire point. Hearing the song and looking at its lyrics, it reveals that no matter how harmless a place can look or sound or even portray itself to be, that will never always be the case; the ordinariness of “Townie” is what makes it linger.
“Townies” essence captures an idea where no matter how much someone can try to outgrow, or leave a place, or fully change themselves to forget who they once were, the action of fully escaping a reality you wished never happened isn’t going to be promised. Leaving a place will never mean healing. Ghosts of the past aren’t going to be tied to the place you wanted to desperately escape. The energy will slowly haunt you and follow you quietly, waiting for a moment like this, when a song suddenly understands you better than you thought.
Okay, an alt-rock based in North Carolina? Alt-country with that familiar twang? I’ve never imagined such a combination. While I’m not a fan of country, this song certainly hits differently. It has that indie-rock feel with just enough folk thrown in. Thanks for the review, I’ll give the album a try too.
Great review, I love the connections to the mental image from the opening lines. The description of the sound is spot on. Also, always a fan of a song that tells a story.