Manning Fireworks MJ Lenderman

Album review

MJ Lenderman, also known as Jake Lenderman from the North Carolina-based Wednesday, has attracted significant attention in the lead-up to his latest solo album, Manning Fireworks. Since the release of Boat Songs in 2022, Lenderman has demonstrated a quirky depth and haunting beauty, leading to comparisons with artists such as Neil Young and Jason Molina. His recent writing credits on labelmate Waxahatchee's Tiger's Blood have further heightened interest in his work, and Manning Fireworks may be the moment where Lenderman goes from underdog to favorite son.

Opening with the title track, Lenderman's voice is laid bare from the start, eventually backed up with a slow moving train of melancholic violin and pedal steel. It's very reminiscent of the Magnolia Electric Co. and the care and majesty of early My Morning Jacket. When "Rip Torn" tackles alcohol as a method of coping with social anxiety—"you need to drink to drink some water/ it'll kill the need to puke/ you need to learn how to behave in groups"—it packs the emotional heft and execution of some of Jason Isbell's greatest moments. The album closes with "Bark at the Moon," which flies closest to his previous work, using Crazy Horse as a stylistic jumping-off point until closing out with a wild seven-minute feedback freak out. The weird references to wrestling and cartoons, pop culture and sports heroes that were so prevalent on Boat Songs aren't completely gone but are largely scrubbed away—most likely a result of levelling-up in maturity. Manning Fireworks is undoubtedly an impressive effort that doesn't quite pack the same punch of Boat Songs or the emotional wallop of Lenderman's live record but is a welcome addition to the canon for old fans and will also win over new ones. And at the ripe age of 25, Lenderman is going to attract a whole lot more of them.  © Fred Pessaro/Qobuz