Brennan Wedl Shares New Single 'Heartland'

Nashville-based songwriter Brennan Wedl has shared her new single “Heartland.” Over spellbinding, finger-picked acoustic guitar she depicts “a long-winded divorce from the perspective of an adult child in Middle America.” Wedl adds “This visceral narrative of a dysfunctional family is inspired by the barebones storytelling heard in “My Father’s House” by Bruce Springsteen. The blunt and emotional delivery is relatable to just about anyone who grew up in a family unit.”

Wedl has been having a productive year to say the least - after a string of singles on the venerable Kill Rock Stars label and co signs from Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield and Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan, she was named an ‘Artist to Watch’ by Stereogum this past May. The collection of singles shows the rising artists wide range, tackling hooky alt-country (“2 Dollar Pistol”), smoldering Southern gothic epics (“Fake Cowboy”) and twangy pop rock (“Scorpio”).

Tomorrow she’ll perform in Knoxville at Pink Moon Sound, and will head to Los Angeles for a show on Nov 7th at Scribble. On the striking lo-fi video which features a miniature home and footage of Wedl riding in the bed of a truck, she shares “The heartland video is a testament to the friend we can find in the inner child. Nurturing this reminds us that play is essential in our personal growth no matter how old we are.”

Wedl grew up in the midwest between Chicago and Minneapolis, eventually relocating to Boston for college and finding community in the local music scene. A short lived project called Dazey And The Scouts yielded the one off album Maggot before quickly disbanding, and Wedl relocated to Nashville. During the pandemic, Dazey’s single “Wet” experienced a viral uptick in popularity, bringing newfound attention to Wedl’s gifts as a songwriter. 

While she has been steadily releasing poignant dispatches as a solo artist since 2016, this latest collection see’s Wedl taking a striking step forward. These recordings capture Wedl at her most unbounded and creatively impulsive, mining her colorful past and nomadic lifestyle for ruminations on catholic church camps, queer awakenings, one-night stands, and collapsed ‘forever’ relationships. 

Raised in a heartland community tied together by religion, Wedl’s bloodline carries that calling, with a family history of raising Benedictine nuns. However, her innate draw to being a rabble-rouser, and teen realization of her queer sexuality made for a “messy, emotional adolescence” where the burden of unmanageable feelings found self-destructive outlets.

Much of her material is indirectly inspired by her quest to live cleanly after the realization that she couldn’t live the life she wanted when drugs and alcohol were involved. The tug of war between moderation and hedonism is central to the questions she’s asking. A battle that she may, in any instant, apply to intoxicants, relationships, spirituality, sexual liberty, and beyond. The bubbling undercurrent throughout is a commitment to find comfort in restraint.

Tour Dates:

Oct 16th - Knoxville, TN @ Pink Moon Sound

Nov 7th - Los Angeles, CA @ Scribble

Photo credit: Chas Bugge

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