by Rob Moura (@tapedeckpod)
Indie rock (at least the type pioneered by the Smiths) is at its core a summoning of eternal adolescence, all swirling feelings and prognosticated disappointments that’s peculiarly designed for audiences of all ages. Some of the finest indie rock released last decade addressed this in uniquely strong ways: Mitski’s Puberty 2 accurately interpreted adolescence as a lifelong endeavor; Beach House’s Teen Dream distilled it down to a vaporous essence; Deerhunter’s Halcyon Digest was an astral meta-commentary on nostalgia, the lifeblood of the genre. Conclusively, if indie rock albums could be measured by how effectively it evokes of the teenager experience, I Was Trying To Describe You To Someone would be nothing if not a triumph. The sophomore effort from Asheville, NC quintet Wednesday, led by Karly Hartzman, is a dark, deep work that captures the emotional messiness and simmering irascibility of adolescence with a searing accuracy.
Hartzman’s voice, paired with the band’s heavy three-guitar attack, creates the record’s vital dynamic. Each of this three guitars weaves together like a braid, creating a near-inextricable swirl of violet chords, tremolo, distortion, and feedback. In the center sits Hartzman, who keeps her voice restrained, letting the band do the emotional heavy-lifting. It’s a powerful pairing that vividly portrays of a certain brand of teenager - one that’s audibly exhausted from fresh feelings and new experiences - and the effect of that pairing never leaves your ears until the album’s closer, the entrancingly lo-fi “Revenge of the Lawn,” trails off.
Perhaps just as importantly is the internal logic that the band sets up across the album’s runtime, which lends the record a greater sense of place. On “Fate Is…,” which blasts off seemingly in media res, Hartzman creates a monolithic image out of the proceeding song’s eponymous “Billboard” that calls to mind the rollercoaster/bridge allusions on Red House Painters; “November,” meanwhile, could just as well be a summer month for how she twists the scenery astride the band’s warm, slow chords. Though the focus is on universality (we’ve all felt like this character at some point) it’s the Midwestern specificity of the imagery that pulls off the trick; characters named Maura and Joanie, references to Texaco and billboards and landlines, even the simple greenery of the neighborhood are all conjured to create an encompassing reflection that suits many pasts. Like the collage adorning the cover, I Was Trying To Describe You To Someone is both endearingly messy and immediately identifiable, hitting a place in the hippocampus only reachable by the most effective indie rock.