Wednesday - Mowing the Leaves Instead of Piling 'em Up

 

I've written about Asheville, North Carolina five piece Wednesday before, (first on a Monday now on a Sunday),  and my admiration for their second album Twin Plagues when It came out last year. But judging by their latest  Mowing the Leaves Instead of Piling 'em Up a covers project, I didn't pay them sufficient attention initially. Because it show they're much more singular and worthy of notice than I'd originally realised.

I like bands that do lots of covers. Cowboy Junkies, R.E.M., Replacements. It can indicate a couple of things generally. Either a reverance for the existing estate or a willingness to have fun with it or else a combination of both. Wednesday show a developed appreciation of both approaches and Mowing the Leaves is an engaging and rewarding collection.

I'd liked Twin Plagues a lot but filed it as hugely Shoegaze and particularly My Bloody Valentine indebted. Mowing shows immediately that they have far more to them that and also have a much finer awareness and feeling for of what has gone before them.

The songs they've chosen to do are a fascinating representation of what they see as their music heritage. You get Country and Honky Tonky classics, Chris Bell, Vic Chesnutt, Roger Miller and Smashing Pumpkins. And each song is utilised not to show off how broad their musical taste is but in service of the song in order to convey the full range of the capacity for voice and feedback inclined guitar to convey the most powerful, overwrought human emotions.

It's difficult to choose favourites, because pretty much everything works. But if pressed I'd go for the opening tracks, Gary Stewart's She's Acting Single (I'm Drinking Doubles) and Chris Bell's superlative I am the Cosmos one of my favourite songs.  Both songs soundtrack the sound of a breaking human heart. Chesnutt's Rabbit Box is also wonderfully realised. Later on Mowing the Leaves they start to remind me more of MBV again. But hey, I love My Bloody Valentine. This is a really wonderful record and I eagerly anticipate whatever Wednesday come up with next.