The second album by the Alabama-based trio
the Wednesdays,
You Will Gasp and They Will Breathe sounds like the Southern garage rock revival's answer to
the Replacements' second release, the bare-knuckle hardcore of
Stink. A similarly concise musical document -- the album's ten songs are over and out in barely 20 minutes -- this set is similarly hampered by what sounds like a rushed and sloppy recording session that robs strong, punky songs like "Sixteen Eighteen" of some of their vitality. A "live" sound is all very well, but when the songs sound like they're playing through a tinny P.A. system, it's less fun. That said, there is energy to burn all over this album, even on potentially awkward tunes like "Rebellion Is the Circle of a Lover's Hands." The Wednesdays would improve dramatically on their third album, the self-assured and varied
Invisible Youth, much as
the Replacements did with their third release, the self-assured and varied
Hootenanny. ~ Stewart Mason