MJ Lenderman Announces ‘Manning Fireworks’ LP w/”She’s Leaving You” Single/Video

The first song that I heard by MJ Lenderman was the opening track on a playist of artists playing last years Pickathon festival. I was writing a post recommending acts to check out and struck gold right out of the gate. “You Are Every Girl To Me” is a perfectly crafted indie rock tune that features elements of Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, and Yo La Tengo along with uplifting guitar work akin to The War On Drugs or Kurt Vile. Lenderman‘s crisp guitar tone pierces through atmospheric fuzz to soar above the track. As I stated in my original article, the familiarity in his sound is more about the feelings he captures than the details. My conclusion was that “this kid has the ability to write a song.”

His album, Boat Songs (2022), which contains “You Are Every Girl To Me,” begins with a song called “Hangover Game,” based on Michael Jordan playing hungover in game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals. MJ already had my attention, but something like that is an effective way to hook me for good. Delving deeper, I discovered a 2021 interview conducted around the release of his previous album, Ghost Of Your Guitar Solo (2021). The header image is of the North Carolina musician in a Wipers shirt, and it includes him discussing how he constructed the songs through a series of jam sessions. To create his lyrics, he employed a songwriting technique promoted by the late David Berman, and the title of the lead-off track, “Someone Get The Grill Out Of The Rain,” 100% sounds like a line that could be lifted from a Silver Jews song. As I continued to explore his catalog, I discovered a broader range with overlapping styles from punk and noise rock to lo-fi indie and honky tonk. Depending on the song, there can be hints of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Neil Young, or Wilco; warm syrupy Western guitar and/or feedback and distortion. The songwriter’s influences expose themselves regularly, but whether they’re offered a nod in the lyrics, inform an approach, or seep through sonically, they authentically reflect something about Lenderman as an individual and an artist. Anything that he absorbs becomes part of him and, when drawn from – as in the case of testing out Berman‘s method – they’re only utilized as tools to help cut through interference and express his own voice as clearly, directly, and potently as possible.

Heading into the creation of Ghost Of Your Guitar Solo and Boat Songs, Lenderman had played drums for Indigo De Souza (as Jake Lenderman) and recently joined the band Wednesday, which began as a solo project for his partner, Karly Hartzman. He had just turned 21 and was working at an ice cream shop when the pandemic hit, resulting in both his income and free time increasing due to the lockdown and unemployment checks. This time period was spent doing nightly jam sessions with roommates, bandmates, and friends, collecting the pieces that stood out and using them for the foundation of new material. The more polished Boat Songs garnered a healthy amount of buzz and by the time we caught the Lenderman and Wednesday sets at Pickathon, he had signed a solo deal with Anti- Records.

Over the last year, Jake has been busy. Regularly leaving their shared Asheville home for the road, Lenderman and Hartzam have come through town multiple times, both as an acoustic duo and with his project supporting Wednesday. More recently, he supplied his guitar and vocals to the latest album by new label-mate, Waxahatchee and performed with them on Late Night With Stephen Colbert. In October, he released the live album MJ Lenderman And The Wind (Live And Loose!), following the release of the “Rudolph” single that accompanied the announcement of his signing to Anti- last July. Today we receive details about his first studio album for the label, along with a sample in the form of a new single/video.

Slated for release on September 6, Manning Fireworks is a 9-song LP that promises to retain the same casual yet dexterous guitar work and light-hearted tongue-in-cheek wordplay, but with an added level of retrospection and sincerity. Along with “Rudolph,” the tracklist contains the songs “Bark At The Moon,” “Joker Lips,” and “Wrist Watch,” all of which we saw him perform as part of his Woods set on the Pendarvis Farm during Pickathon last year. It’s a promising sign that indicates he’s been working to get the music just right for his Anti- debut before releasing it. Co-produced by frequent collaborator, Alex Farrar, Manning Fireworks was recorded at Asheville’s Drop of Sun Studios over “multiple four-day stints” squeezed in whenever he was home from touring. Lenderman played nearly every instrument on the release, entering into the process fully aware of the expectations set for him by the success of “Boat Songs” and willing to embrace the pressure and the opportunity.

The new single, “She’s Leaving You,” is described as “a half-sneering portrait of a middle-aged man cheating his way through a midlife crisis, at least until he gets caught and blasts Clapton in a rented Ferrari en route to Vegas.” Its video was directed by comedian/actor, Whitmer Thomas and actor/writer/director, Clay Tatum, who co-directed/produced Whitmer‘s inspired and surprisingly heartfelt HBO standup special, The Golden One. In speaking about their approach to the video, the directing team prompts you to “think “Creed Thanksgiving Half-Time Show” mixed with “Smells Like Teen Spirit” mixed with “Drop Dead Gorgeous.”“

Pre-order Manning Fireworks
 
Manning Fireworks Tracklist
1. Manning Fireworks
2. Joker Lips
3. Rudolph
4. Wristwatch
5. She’s Leaving You
6. Rip Torn
7. You Don’t Know The Shape I’m In
8. On My Knees
9. Bark At The Moon
 
MJ Lenderman Tour Dates
Thu. June 27 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village – SOLD OUT
Fri. June 28 – Chicago, IL @ Logan Square Arts Festival
Thu. Sept. 5 – Sat. Sept. 7 – Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Music Festival
Wed. Sept. 18 – Nashville, TN @ Blue Room at Third Man % – SOLD OUT
Thu. Sept. 19 – Nashville, TN @ Basement East (ANTI- Showcase at Americanafest)
Mon. Nov. 11 – Berlin, DE @ Privatclub
Tues. Nov. 12 – Hamburg, DE @ Hafenklang
Thu. Nov. 14 – Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet
Fri. Nov. 15 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique Witloof Bar
Sat. Nov. 16 – Paris, FR @ Point Ephemere
 Mon. Nov. 18 – London, UK @ The Garage
Tue. Nov. 19 – London, UK @ The Garage – SOLD OUT
Thu. Nov. 21 – Manchester, UK @ YES Pink Room
Fri. Nov. 22 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Sat. Nov. 23 – Dublin, IE @ Workman’s Club
 
% Solo w/ Karly Hartzman