“Wretched” by Bartees Strange

"Wretched" comes from Farm to Table, the second album from indie rocker Bartees Strange and his first for 4AD, released on June 17, 2022; the credits list Bartees Cox as its only writer, words and music. The record was made during the COVID-19 pandemic, with no shows to play, and Strange felt so inspired once his debut full-length, Live Forever, was done that he began work on its successor a day before that album was even out.

The title measures the distance from a rural Oklahoma farm upbringing to a seat at the music industry's table, and the album's lyrics wrestle with finding success while others were struggling, with the turmoil around the George Floyd protests and with his parents, who heard the finished record in early 2022. Critics praised its range of styles and the emotional depth of its words.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.