Two bands writing songs named after each other—the symmetry alone is the best joke here. On August 12, LA band Townies released a new single via label Brain Synthesizer, titled simply "Wednesday"—a direct callback to "Townies," the song by the band Wednesday that appeared on last year's album Bleeds.
This callback had actually been in the works for nearly a year. Back around September of last year, when Bleeds was released, Townies had already teased it on social media: "They'll get it once they hear the Wednesday that Townies wrote." Townies is made up of Tom Lynch, Chris Magnani, and Nolan Melia—the band formed in Boston and is now based in LA. The new track is a tense, emotionally charged emo song, with heavy guitar riffs driving a central melody that builds to a hazy, noise-tinged eruption at the end. The single's music video was directed by Zach Miller.
As for "Townies," the song that started it all, it wasn't written casually either. Penned by Wednesday frontwoman Karly Hartzman, it's about a friend who endured sexual rumors and humiliation during her teenage years. In an interview with NME last year, Hartzman explained her motivation for writing it: "It's not that she can't let go of her anger toward those people, but you know how sometimes you get more fired up defending a friend than you would for yourself. There's something precious about being able to tell someone, 'I care so much about what happened to you in high school, and I love you'—and how people judge girls for being 'slutty' is something I've always wanted to explore." "Townies" was later named one of NME's best songs of 2025, and the full album Bleeds received a five-star review from NME, with critics specifically highlighting MJ Lenderman's guitar solos on "Candy Breath" and "Townies" for how they transform Wednesday's low moments into euphoric, cathartic peaks.
Hartzman's recent activity extends beyond the ripple effects of this song. Last month, she appeared at the Newport Folk Festival alongside Hayley Williams to perform "Mirtazapine" together, and she also contributed to "Skinny Dipper," a new single from Weezer's upcoming album The Gold Album.
