Brennan Wedl makes country music like someone who arrived through punk rock’s side door. Before Nashville, Americana and the Telecaster became central to her sound, there was a strict Catholic upbringing, riot grrrl and the combustible energy of Boston queercore band Dazey and the Scouts.
Wedl co-founded the group in the mid-2010s, releasing its sole album, Maggot, in 2017. Years later, the record found an unexpected second life through TikTok and streaming, introducing a new audience to her confrontational songwriting.
Her solo music keeps that punk instinct but adds the narrative patience of country. Wedl calls the resulting sound “grungetry,” where twang, fingerpicked guitar and conversational storytelling can suddenly erupt into distortion and feedback. Lucinda Williams sits comfortably among her influences, while her affection for Fender Telecasters gives the music a bright, cutting physicality.
Wedl’s religious upbringing remains equally important. Childhood visits to elderly aunts living in a convent left her with imagery and questions that continue to surface in songs about faith, guilt, queerness and autonomy.
Sobriety became another turning point, helping Wedl move away from people-pleasing and toward more deliberate, emotionally exposed writing.
Her self-titled album, arriving August 21 through ANTI- Records, brings those histories together. Co-produced by Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield and Brad Cook, with Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan among the contributors, it places Wedl at a fascinating intersection.
She has not traded punk for country. She has discovered that riot grrrl fury and country confession can tell different chapters of the same story.