In 2023, the North Carolina indie band Wednesday released Rat Saw God, and it was our favorite album of the year. That record was the culmination of a huge rise for Wednesday. Up until recently, Wednesday leader Karly Hartzman and guitarist MJ Lenderman were a couple, and Lenderman split his time between Wednesday and his solo career. Since then, Hartzman and Lenderman have broken up, and Lenderman’s solo career has taken off. In 2024, he released Manning Fireworks, our second-favorite album of the year. Now, Lenderman says that he will no longer tour with Wednesday.