Manning Fireworks by MJ Lenderman

I first heard MJ Lenderman on the lovely Waxahatchee song “Right Back To It,” which came out on January 9, 2024. I’d been anxiously awaiting something new from Waxahatchee, so the new single was a much welcome surprise, despite the new sensation of having male backing vocals crowd in on Katie Crutchfield’s lead. When the new full Waxahatchee album came out in March, we learned that MJ Lenderman was all over that album, singing with Crutchfield on four songs, and playing electric guitar across the entire album. Just who was this guy suddenly thrust into my Waxahatchee-loving world?

Thankfully, later in the year, I learned exactly who MJ Lenderman was. His great record, Manning Fireworks, lands way up here at #9 on the Top 31. And once again, I’m late to the party. Fireworks is the fourth album Lenderman has released since 2019. His last album, Boat Songs, is apparently something special as well and I aim to check it out. On top of that, he is actively in the band Wednesday, with whom he has also released three albums in that same time period. Their 2023 album, Rat Saw God, barely missed the Top 31 last year, remaining in contention for one of the upper 20s spots until just before I started up the Top 31 (they can’t all win, and I often make the wrong choice in retrospect).

Lenderman’s voice is somewhere in the same area of the musical chart next to Eef Barzelay from Clem Snide, slightly scratchy, a touch of strain, and all emotion. There’s also hints of Stephen Malkmus, whose off-key delivery always put me off but I somehow find endearing with Lenderman. And there’s a straightforwardness, an earnestness to the delivery that feels very much like Neil Young. Lenderman’s fuzzy guitar often evokes some Neil as well.

The lead singer of Wednesday, Karly Hartzman, who is also Lenderman’s ex romantic partner, features prominently throughout Fireworks. It’s her backing vocals we hear on all but three of the nine songs. As opposed to Hartzman and Lenderman’s Wednesday albums, Lenderman and his solo-album band have slowed things down mostly into an alt.country lane, complete with pedal steel guitar. “She’s Leaving You,” featured above, is one of the more straightforward rock songs on the album, and Lenderman’s unpolished voice really drives it home. “Joker Lips” is slower, squarely country, as is “You Don’t Know the Shape I’m In” – the two other songs he’s produced videos for from the album.

The album ends with a ten-minute epic of a song called “Bark at the Moon.” The song starts out as nearly every other Lenderman song does, with a bit of lyrical humor. “I‘ve lost my sense of humor. I’ve lost my driving range. I could really use your two cents, babe. I could really use the change.” He then carries further into a depressing tale, where it’s clear he’s experiencing a breakup and his soon-to-be-ex is moving away from him. “Don’t move to New York City, babe. It’s gonna change the way you dress.” The lyrics then wrap up the story bringing us home to the reasoning for the song title, which also happens to be an early 80s Ozzy Osbourne track and album title. “I’ve never seen the the Mona Lisa. I’ve never really left my room. I’ve been up too late with Guitar Hero playing ‘Bark at the Moon.’ Awooooo.” The song then devolves into six minutes of glorious guitar drone that is quite pleasant in its loudness.

I’m excited to get to see Lenderman in February, at the Neptune here in Seattle. I’ve always had a soft spot for alt.country,¹ and with MJ Lenderman showing up in two of my favorite albums from 2024, I‘m going to be watching him closely for the foreseeable future.

^{1. I just looked up the wikipedia page for “alternative country,” to see if anyone still referred to it as “alt.country” as I still do, and saw that another name for it is “y’allternative.” I won’t start using that, preferring to stick to my late 90s verbiage, but I do love that turn of phrase.↩}