A lot has happened since Wednesday released their last album Rat Saw God, one of 2023's best records. Aside from gaining traction as one of indie rock's most exciting and promising bands, they've risen to heights, larger venues, and bigger festival fonts. The band's lead guitarist MJ Lenderman has had a bit of a breakout as well thanks to last year's excellent Manning Fireworks which has seen him also rise in fame and stature. While that news remains awesome, we also have learned that Lenderman and Wednesday's lead singer Karly Hartzman have broken up as a couple and MJ will no longer be touring with the band. At first it seemed like while he remains committed to the band's studio output, this might be an early sign of his imminent departure given their break-up, but last month Hartzman joined Lenderman's touring band The Wind for one of their stops at Brooklyn Steel which put some fear to rest. Now, the band has shared their first new song since the news and, as you'd expect, it's a good one! Stripping away the more grizzled guitar work, this one sinks into their country roots with ample steel guitar and plenty of twang. There's no doubt that a lot of the material on the still unannounced upcoming album will be about the split between Hartzman and Lenderman and Karly explains a bit of that when talking about the new track:
“Elderberry Wine” is about the potential for sweet things in life (love, family, success) to become poison if not prepared for and attended to correctly. Elderberry is known as a healing fruit, and is an ingredient in many tonics and syrups to aid the immune system. One time however, my sister consumed them raw and it immediately induced vomiting. So “Elderberry Wine” is ultimately a love song about creating just the right environment for fulfillment. There’s a delicate balance that needs to be created, especially in love, for two lives to intersect without poisoning each other.
Perhaps for Wednesday the balance is Lenderman in the studio and off the tour bus, but whatever formula the band decides is best, they're still firmly in their groove on this one and this gulp of wine goes down easy.
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