MJ Lenderman is Manning Indie Twang
The multi-instrumentalist out of Asheville, North Carolina, has been dubbed indie rock’s guitar hero. On "Manning Fireworks," he delivers witty one-liners and takes a stance he won’t change to meet expectations.
In 2023, MJ (Mark Jacob) Lenderman played an afternoon set at Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago to a group of fans repping royal blue trucker hats perched on top of their heads that featured his name in big white letters.
I walked away from the set knowing I’d be seeing and hearing a lot from him going forward—and it seems as though most walked away with the same intuition. Since then, Lenderman’s twangy indie Southern rock has caught like wildfire.
Lenderman’s fourth studio album Manning Fireworks, out this Friday, Sept. 6 via ANTI- Records, has been one of great anticipation—garnering unlikely attention from the likes of Rolling Stone and The New York Times. The attention shocks Lenderman.
Indie listeners like me who devour other small country-punk bands—like Wednesday (led by Lenderman’s partner Karly Hartzman), Greg Freeman and Ratboys—cringe at the headlines. Not because Lenderman doesn’t deserve it, but because recognition from bigger mainstream music outlets always leads to overexposure.
The magic of Lenderman’s music is the quirky exclusivity of being let into his world, full of drinking with friends, playing basketball and growing up in a small mountain town. It’s almost like you’re one of them, singing along.
But his indie stardom stems from a rise in attention around country music. Not pop country like you might hear on the radio, but country music that’s birthed from a love for bluegrass, steel guitar and banjo—music that makes you feel like you’re wading through tall grass on a hot summer day in North Carolina.
The draw to Lenderman is most certainly his lightning-in-a-bottle guitar style, but it’s also his lyrical storytelling that are seemingly so simple and approachable that they become poetic.
He’s not trying to be this poetic mastermind, though his one-liners will stick in your brain like nursery rhymes. It’s the way wit and sadness intersect in his songs. Like in She’s Leaving You, which follows a man who tries to cheat his way through a midlife crisis, only to get caught.
You can put your clothes back on, she’s leaving you / No time to apologize for the things you do / Go rent a Ferrari and sing the blues / Believe that Clapton was the second coming
Recorded in Asheville, North Carolina, at Drop of Sun studio during multiple four-day stints, Lenderman co-produced Manning Fireworks with Alex Farrar, and Lenderman plays nearly every instrument on the recordings.
In between touring with Wednesday, Lenderman finds time for frank introspection and observation—while also lending his guitar chords and melodies to other artists’ songs like Waxahatchee and Horse Jumper of Love. Within three years, he’s found himself a full-time touring and recording musician.
But what’s interesting about Lenderman’s success is how airy and easy moving his music is. It’s approachable and often relatable because it’s not trying to be anything other than what it is: twangy country rock, with a splash of punk influence. Lenderman’s music recalls a smorgasbord of sound, ranging from Jimi Hendrix and Sonic Youth to Neil Young’s Crazy Horse.
It’s music that will make you feel young and a little immature, digging into the sounds and experiences that make you, you. Songs like Rudolph also remind you to stop taking life so seriously.
Rudolph waking up in the road / Dew dripping off his red nose / Blue and black tire track torn / Through a beautiful doe / Deleted scene of Lightning McQueen / Blacked out at full speed
But also, try to get yourself together and be a decent person.
The album closes with Bark At The Moon, a title that lends inspiration to Ozzy Osborne’s 1983 song—which Lenderman played countless times on Guitar Hero in his childhood bedroom. Bark At The Moon is a childhood reflection, that despite all that he’s experiencing today as a musician it’s not worth changing himself for it. In between playful howls, he swears off big cities and promises not to meet anyone’s expectations.
In the 10-minute song, Lenderman and his band use the last seven minutes for a gradual guitar solo that builds momentum with each second that goes by. It’s spookily drawn out, lingering in the back of your head.
Start with Lenderman’s song Rudolph from Manning Fireworks. It immediately punches you with drum pad beats as the steel guitar sweetly swoops in.
Pay attention to the layers of sound the steel guitar adds to the song. It gives it that kiss of twang mixed with the heavier lead guitar chords. All is met by Lenderman’s blunt lyrical forwardness.
Kendall Polidori is The Rockhound, Luckbox’s resident rock critic. Follow her reviews on Instagram and X @rockhoundlb, TikTok @rockhoundkp
