Manning Fireworks
280135Label: ANTI
Release Date: 10th January
This is an MJ Lenderman shop, he jumps off a prime co-star feature on Waxahatachee's SOTY contender 'Right Back To It' and his other band Wednesday's breakout LP with a new solo album. It's on his own that you really get the magic of Jake, the pure charisma that spills out these songs, the fuzzy country indie, a funny one liner that hits you like something your best mate said once and becomes a treasured catchphrase. 'Manning Fireworks' is his debut for ANTI and will doubtless see his cult status grow as everyone's favourite new songwriter.
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MJ Lenderman is a songwriter born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina
The anatomy of an MJ record might go something like this: warped pedal steels and skuzzed out guitar; crackin' a cold one with some buds; a voice reminiscent of the high-lonesome warble of a choirboy. Songs snake their way from a lo-fi home recording to something glossier made with longtime friends at Asheville's Drop of Sun studios, but the recording setting doesn't seem to matter much - at its core, a Lenderman song rings true.
Manning Fireworks is a remarkable development in MJ Lenderman's story as an incredibly incisive singer-songwriter, whose propensity for humour always points to some uneasy, disorienting darkness. The punchlines are still here, as are the rusted-wire guitar solos that have made Lenderman a favourite for indie rock fans looking for an emerging guitar hero. There's a new sincerity, too, as Lenderman lets listeners clearly see the world through his warped lens.