MJ Lenderman - “Manning Fireworks” - ANTI- :: 09/06
Through the thick and thin streets of southern lullabies, where captivating scenery based on midlife crisis meditations flourish in flammable fables of story-telling mantras, a voice is heard in the morning mountains. Where holy hymns and caffeinated choirs eagerly stretching wings that cast horizontal shadows over land and sea in some alchemy attempt to warn the elements of nature of the second coming of Christ and his favorite memory of the past, present and future of man. Through the telepathy of tradition and southern seance rituals, a marginal moment rears its headless head towards the soft glass, capturing what’s left of a wondering youth in the landscape of both day and night. It's under this impression, the fictional frontier faces backlash just moments before expanding its hopeful horizon in hopes of cashing in on the bilingual communications between people and plants in one last hooray before the world folds in on itself like some ancient origami operation. You can still hear music from an abandoned car door left open outside a gas station back east.
Upon first hearing of Lenderman via his collaboration with Waxahatchee on the outstanding single, “Right Back To It” from her most recent album “Tigers Blood”, you quickly register that there is epic emotion and this grounding sense of clarity in the songwriter’s crystal voice. His ability to conjure this incredibly unique range with punch through vibration and soulful sustainment, truly transcends the relationship between the growing pains and the bravery it takes to project it out into the world for all to hear. The Asheville, NC singer-songwriter has been on the scene for a number of years now with such releases as his 2019 self-titled/self-released album, “Ghost of Your Guitar Solo” and “Boat Songs”, but his most recent effort entitled “Manning Fireworks”, which is set for release on Anti- Records in early September, completely steers this monumental momentum of his career in a direction that’s truly reflective of something honest and completely captivating.
“Manning Fireworks” is a romantic gesture towards the humming void of faith and love. Engulfing its listeners in fertile flames, the album’s 9 tracks explore these stellar Sutras and personal glimpses into the heart and soul of someone rationalizing the reality of life. A significant recollection of memory and youth, Lenderman exposes the vivid morning’s mosaics with swift verses and calculated choruses that reflect the blanketed comfort of summer nights within the true fibers of the ‘American Dream’. The album’s first single “She’s Leaving You” spins this spacial yarn as it immerses into the light of day like a calm comet piercing the almighty atmosphere above. With a full band helping Lenderman to bring these songs to life through the holy soil and onto the surface like a metaphysical sunflower, the album’s spirit quickly delights its listeners in this thunderous way. With tracks like “Joker Lips”, the album’s title track and “On My Knees” ricocheting in this open twilight air, the young musician explores the muse of his mind in such an articulate and tremendous way and there’s no doubt “Manning Fireworks” is the breakthrough album for Lendermen.
