ZOOMERCORE
MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks
Combining Alt-Country, Americana and Indie Rock, MJ Lenderman impresses on his third album Manning Fireworks. Musically, the album is rich with fiddles, pedal steels, trombones and guitars. The music is close to the folk rock style of Neil Young, Drive-By Truckers, and The Band, while also incorporating edgier, alternative influences akin to those of Yo La Tengo and Wilco. Lenderman takes a major step forward as one of indie rock’s favorite guitar heroes, proving that his compositions are welcoming to a whole slew of bluegrass instruments. Sonically, Manning Fireworks is a major upgrade from the lo-fi tunes of his previous albums, and while the instrumentation is colorful and dynamic, the real growth in Lenderman's latest lies in his lyrics.
Lenderman’s stories are tragic-comedies, containing mostly down-on-their-luck half-wits nursing hangovers, broken hearts, and unfulfilled dreams. Elements in his stories include: motels, houseboats, Bibles, McDonalds and “DUI scooters.” The album’s lyrical themes evoke the kind of southern Americana that has always been both fascinating to me and made me laugh. As someone hailing from Jackson, Mississippi, I was thrilled to read that Lenderman got inspiration from Southern-royalty authors such as Barry Hannah and Larry Brown. Like those authors, Lenderman excels in portraying the humor in prideful, moronic losers bragging about their wristwatches and houseboats - and even making the listener feel a twinge of sympathy for them.
The lead single is “She’s Leaving You,” an excellent breakup song in which Lenderman employs his own ex-girlfriend (Karly Hartzman of Wednesday) to add backing vocals to the chorus. I can’t help but be reminded of when David Berman used his ex-wife to star in a Purple Mountains music video. Another great song is “On My Knees,” which sounds like a lost Uncle Tupelo tune. My favorite song on the album is “You Don’t Know the Shape I’m In,” a beautiful guitar ballad over an understated drum kit. He opens this track with “Some say distance grows the heart, but I know sometimes we just drift apart.” The track sways with slide guitars and clarinets, culminating in the realization: “all you had to do was be nice.” Lenderman lifts a chorus from The Band, showcasing his ability to drag and drop influences in fresh ways.
On previous albums, Lenderman was still funny and sharp-witted, but his lyrics had a kind of slapstick, first-thought quality to them. Some of his previous quips like “someone get that grill out of the rain,” and “I bought you a shirt from the local merch at the airport,” felt a little cheesy to me. On this album, his lyrics have the kind of meticulously worked-over quality that David Berman’s writing contains. I love lyrics like “Is it the quiet hiss of a midnight piss or a river turned to creek?” and “Everybody's walking in two's, Leaving Noah's Ark.” It’s clear Lenderman is a student of the game - if you were raised on Alt-country or Folk Rock, digging into Manning Fireworks will have you recognizing old motifs and references that you haven’t heard in years. While he doesn't reinvent the genre, his vivid portrayal of Southern America - something like Flannery O’Connor meets Zuma, firmly establishes his place among alt-country's best.
Lenderman’s stories are tragic-comedies, containing mostly down-on-their-luck half-wits nursing hangovers, broken hearts, and unfulfilled dreams. Elements in his stories include: motels, houseboats, Bibles, McDonalds and “DUI scooters.” The album’s lyrical themes evoke the kind of southern Americana that has always been both fascinating to me and made me laugh. As someone hailing from Jackson, Mississippi, I was thrilled to read that Lenderman got inspiration from Southern-royalty authors such as Barry Hannah and Larry Brown. Like those authors, Lenderman excels in portraying the humor in prideful, moronic losers bragging about their wristwatches and houseboats - and even making the listener feel a twinge of sympathy for them.
The lead single is “She’s Leaving You,” an excellent breakup song in which Lenderman employs his own ex-girlfriend (Karly Hartzman of Wednesday) to add backing vocals to the chorus. I can’t help but be reminded of when David Berman used his ex-wife to star in a Purple Mountains music video. Another great song is “On My Knees,” which sounds like a lost Uncle Tupelo tune. My favorite song on the album is “You Don’t Know the Shape I’m In,” a beautiful guitar ballad over an understated drum kit. He opens this track with “Some say distance grows the heart, but I know sometimes we just drift apart.” The track sways with slide guitars and clarinets, culminating in the realization: “all you had to do was be nice.” Lenderman lifts a chorus from The Band, showcasing his ability to drag and drop influences in fresh ways.
On previous albums, Lenderman was still funny and sharp-witted, but his lyrics had a kind of slapstick, first-thought quality to them. Some of his previous quips like “someone get that grill out of the rain,” and “I bought you a shirt from the local merch at the airport,” felt a little cheesy to me. On this album, his lyrics have the kind of meticulously worked-over quality that David Berman’s writing contains. I love lyrics like “Is it the quiet hiss of a midnight piss or a river turned to creek?” and “Everybody's walking in two's, Leaving Noah's Ark.” It’s clear Lenderman is a student of the game - if you were raised on Alt-country or Folk Rock, digging into Manning Fireworks will have you recognizing old motifs and references that you haven’t heard in years. While he doesn't reinvent the genre, his vivid portrayal of Southern America - something like Flannery O’Connor meets Zuma, firmly establishes his place among alt-country's best.