Ken's Best of 2025 - #6: Wednesday - Bleeds

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One of the themes of 2025 has been artists we've loved for a while breaking out, and none have done that quite like Wednesday. The indie rock meets country artists blurred those genre lines even further with Bleeds, and blew up with their April 2026 show at Royale moved to the much larger Roadrunner. When you listen to Bleeds, you'll know why. As someone who has always loved albums that swing wildly between genres while still sounding like a cohesive collection of songs, this latest is a dream come true. You go right from the loud and noisy "Reality TV Argument Bleeds" into the twang-filled "Townies." Wednesday are settling firmly into their sound on this one, and we're all well rewarded with this album. Alt-country and indie rock are arguably our favorite genres, and Bleeds mixes both of those sounds into one for a dozen songs unlike anyone else. The songs alternate between being perfect for moshing to heartfelt and earnest head nodders, and that's why I love Wednesday so much.

Songs of note: "Townies," "Wound Up Here (By Holdin On)," "Elderberry Wine," and "Pick Up That Knife"

On Repeat...

Minibeast - "High Sea"

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Somehow Peter Prescott of Mission of Burma and Volcano Suns has another band that I never knew about. Minibeast already released an album that I completely missed back in 2012, and they are currently at work on the follow up, Free Will. Based on a track from the upcoming album, "High Sea," Minibeast shares some common sonic ground with Mission of Burma, but with an added emphasis on the groovy side of things. It's basically the noise and dissonance of Burma but heard through a 60s surf groove, as if Frankie and Annette were punks. You can listen to "High Sea" below. Minibeast currently have a Kickstarter to help fund the final production of Free Will. You can get more information on that here . It should be out sometime in June.
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There's a new Limp Bizkit video, because sure, why not?

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Earlier this week I was expressing sympathy for Limp Bizkit. Limp Bizkit just don't seem to be riding that surge of 90s nostalgia that all sorts of other terrible bands from that era are. Sure, they're terrible. But are they really  that much worse than Filter, Alien Ant Farm, and other bands on those 90s nostalgia packages. And then this video is released. The first lyrics to the song are literally "Go fuck yourself." It then features Fred Durst sitting on a toilet, bikini clad chicks pretending to fellate garden hoses and leaf blowers, and Fred Durst talking about fucking bitches, all while wearing a hoodie and a backwards red baseball hat. Then Lil Wayne comes out. Please keep in mind Fred Durst is a 42 year old man.
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The Beths - "Mother, Pray for Me"

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Photo by Annabel Kean For their latest single, New Zealand's The Beths have released "Mother, Pray for Me." This is a heartbreaking ballad consisting of Elizabeth Stokes' vocals and guitar with just the slightest hint of organ. It's a deeply personal song for Stokes, made obvious with how intimately the song comes across. It truly feels almost confessional, and it's quite simply beautiful. The Beths are most known for huge little indie rock gems perfect for bopping along to, but "Mother, Pray for Me" is quite the opposite. Stokes' vocals and lyrics are right up front on this one, and I can't imagine it any other way. Elizabeth Stokes says of her latest single: “I cried the whole time writing it. It's not really about my mother, it's about me — what I hope our relationship is, what I think it is, what it maybe actually is, and what I can or can't expect out of it.   “My mother is a first gen Indonesian immigrant, and very Catholic....
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