Guitar Hero MJ Lenderman Releases New Album 'Manning Fireworks''

The wait is over, and it's time to bask in the guitar-hero glory of MJ Lenderman—the North Carolina-based singer, songwriter, and musician—who on Friday, September 6th, shares his fourth full-length album, Manning Fireworks, released via ANTI Records. He's already shared the LPs 'Rudolph', 'She's Leaving You', and 'Joker Lips', with his latest single, 'Wristwatch,' joining the impressive selection just yesterday, ahead of the album release.

Following in the footsteps of the "Slacker anthem of the summer" (The FADER) 'She's Leaving You' and the "Manning Fireworks thesis statement" (UPROXX) 'Joker Lips', 'Wristwatch' sees Lenderman again provide us with a world-weary story that straddles the line between humour and sadness, as he sings of someone that's too proud of what they have to be humble about what they've forsaken. "I've got a beach home up in Buffalo / and a wristwatch that's a compass and a cell phone," Lenderman deadpans, before eventually realising it's just "a wristwatch that tells me / I'm on my own"

Recorded at Asheville's Drop of Sun Studios and co-produced with frequent collaborator Alex Farrar, Manning Fireworks is an instant classic of an LP and a remarkable development in Lenderman's story as an incisive singer songwriter, whose propensity for humour always points to some uneasy, disorientating darkness. The punchlines from his previous albums are still here, as are the rusted-wire guitar solos that have made him a favourite for indie-rock fans looking for an emerging guitar hero. Executed with a precision and care that make his songs feel like short films, Lenderman simply offers everyday anxieties and enthusiasms in uncanny ways.

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