Photo of Wednesday by Graham Tolbert
First Thought Fridays is a (mostly) weekly column offering quick-hit takes on some of the albums released this week, serving up first impressions, favorite or least favorite songs, and whether or not they’re worth a second listen. Check back for more each Friday night or Saturday morning.
An interesting mix this week: one of the most anticipated follow-up albums of the year from an indie rock darling, a pair of fairly random new releases plucked out of my ever-overflowing inbox, and two long-awaited comeback LPs from a pair of old favorites. Here’s what I thought of them, in the order in which I listened to them:
Wednesday, Bleeds (Dead Oceans): Many bands are given the label “alt-country,” but I can’t think of another that pushes the “alt” part of that equation as hard as Wednesday. Who else would place something as gnarled and abrasive as “Wound Up Here (By Holdin’ On)” up against a pretty, bouncy country tune like “Elderberry Wine”? On the noisier end of the spectrum, “Pick Up That Knife” has Sonic Youth vibes, both in the cool alt-rock groove of the verses and the periodic explosions of feedback, “Wasp” goes full-thrash punk rock, and “Bitter Everyday” mixes jangly pop with buzzing feedback in a way you can imagine Kurt Cobain getting fully behind. On the other end, the album closes with the rollickin’ acoustic guitar and pedal steel of “Gary’s II.” None of this genre whiplash should surprise anyone who heard Wednesday’s stellar last album (2023’s Rat Saw God), which I referred to as “country shoegaze” the first time I heard it, or guitarist MJ Lenderman’s nearly as strong solo album from last year, Manning Fireworks. But after a first listen? I think Wednesday just may have outdone both of them: Bleeds is packed with sonic surprises and amazing turns of phrase (potential favorite song lyric of the year: “We watched a Phish concert and Human Centipede/ Two things I now wish I had never seen”), and singer/guitarist/bandleader Karly Hartzman has refined her singing without losing the informal, tossed-off feeling that’s essential to the band’s sound. This album has already leapt toward the top of my personal top 10 for 2025. Will I listen again?: Absolutely. This is potential Album of the Year material.
The Dreadnoughts, Polka Pit (Punkerton Records): Every St. Patrick’s Day, the stereos of the world are taken over by Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys. But who, pray tell, will give a punk rock soundtrack to our Oktoberfest? Why, the Dreadnoughts, of course! The Vancouver-born, NYC-based band is now eight albums deep in their career (though, full disclosure, this is the first time I’ve ever listened to them) and they’ve got this whole punk rock polka thing down pat: fast tempos, loud guitars, and growled vocals mixed with so, so much accordion. The band makes the wise choice to not make it all one speed, though: there’s also a couple of instrumentals and four melancholy sea shanties that offer a welcome respite. Still, the best songs are the punkiest ones: the title track/mission statement “Polka Pit” (which helpfully evolves—devolves?—into “In Heaven There Is No Beer” at the end) and the hoist-your-stein anthem “The I’m Going to Fight Jim’s Girlfriend Polka.” I dare you to have a liter of Märzenbier and try to not shout along to the chorus of “Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, we’re all at the bar/ Drink until you don’t know who you are.” Will I listen again?: Those two best songs? Probably every September and October.
Chloe Navarre, Periwinkle (self-released): As near as I can tell, Chloe Navarre is a band and not a person, though that band also might just be one person named Ry Mohon? Anyway, the Santa Fe-based person/band’s debut LP is an interesting mélange of electronica elements, primarily fast-pulsing trance with some elements of ambient and drum and bass. The best songs include the kinda Bowie-ish “Petrolized,” the LCD Soundsystem-meets-Pet Shop Boys “Solid Proof,” and the slowly pulsating “Mañana Boi.” The only sticking point for me is some of the vocals, particularly the spoken word performances—“Doubt of the Benefit,” for example, has a David Bowie’s “Golden Years” sort of vibe that works really well but then the unintentionally goofy spoken word bit arrives and spoils the mood. Will I listen again?: Possibly? The instrumentation has a skittering yet chill vibe that seems well suited to late nights in an otherwise quiet house.
Nine Inch Nails, Tron: Ares original motion picture soundtrack (Interscope): I used to listen to so much Nine Inch Nails in high school that I had basically made it a key part of my personality, but for whatever reason I hadn’t really checked in with Trent Reznor since his 2013 album Hesitation Marks. Tron: Ares, the first NIN release since 2020’s twin Ghosts V and VI releases, tries to serve as both a proper NIN album and a film score, and while it ends up ultimately being more of the latter, the best parts are when it succeeds in being the former. The album is mostly instrumental, with those songs being a mix of blasting electronic tracks using glistening, very ‘80s synths that reminded me of the score for The Terminator, driving retro-industrial tunes that bring to mind early Nitzer Ebb, organic piano-driven pieces that would have been at home on The Fragile, and spacier synth pieces like what Reznor and his collaborator Atticus Ross are more known for in their soundtrack work. Oddly, the best and worst songs both come from the ones with vocals: single “As Alive as You Need Me to Be” is fantastic, that “your favorite band doing the thing they do best in a way they haven’t done it in a long time” kind of song, while “Who Wants to Live Forever?” is a ponderous duet with singer Judeline what goes on way too long and lays Reznor’s vocals bare while he sings in a simple ballad style that he doesn’t seem comfortable with. As a Nine Inch Nails album, it has too many personalities and too little vocals to be a new favorite, but it’s still a worthy addition to the catalog. As a film score, it succeeded in making me want to see the movie. Will I listen again?: Definitely.
Sarah McLachlan, Better Broken (Concord): As a critic, I know it’s best to not approach an album with any preconceived notions, but it was hard not to go into this one without a mix of excitement and trepidation. I wasn’t sure what to expect—Sarah McLachlan has always taken a long time between albums, with six- and seven-year waits being not unheard of, but it’s been 11 long years since her last album of all-new material. McLachlan is responsible for 1993’s Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, an all-time top-ten album for me, and I’ve continued to enjoy everything she’s released since, even as her music has moved away from the alt-inspirations that first drove me to those early albums and toward a more adult contemporary style. But Better Broken is her first album since her debut way back in 1988 to not feature any contributions from producer and frequent co-songwriter Pierre Marchand, who always seemed to find interesting instrumentation to add color to even the simplest soft rock tunes. After hearing the first few singles from Better Broken, I wondered if the whole album would continue in that same enjoyable but safe adult-contempo vein as her last two albums, 2010’s Laws of Illusion and 2014’s Shine On, only maybe more so due to Marchand’s absence.
I needn’t have worried. While the tempos mostly stay slow and the compositions are still much more piano- than guitar-based, there’s a rich variety of songs styles, which producer Tony Berg adds consistently interesting color to, particularly in the percussion department. Lyrics aren’t usually a focus on a very first listen to an album, but there were quite a few times when a turn of phrase would jump out and just devastate me, particularly in “Gravity” (a musical letter to McLachlan’s now-adult daughters, which she performed beautifully at her stop by Saint Louis Music Park last summer) and the funereal-yet-hopeful album closer “If This Is the End…” Other favorites the first time through included “The Last to Go,” “Only Way Out Is Through,” and “One In a Long Line.” It took 11 long years, but Better Broken was ultimately so worth the wait. Will I listen again?: Absolutely. | Jason Green
