MJ Lenderman
– Manning Fireworks
MJ Lenderman’s Manning Fireworks wanders into the backroads of memory with a half-smirk, half-sigh, and a guitar tone that feels both fried and oddly comforting. The record never chases grandeur. Instead, it stumbles into it the way a late-night joke becomes suddenly profound. Lenderman writes like someone watching the absurd unfold, jotting down details on a bar napkin, then turning them into a kind of sideways poetry.
Best of…
What makes the album stick is how unforced it all feels. The songs meander, double back, lean against the wall, then light up in bursts of melody that cut deeper than expected. His voice carries a slacker drawl, but underneath it is an ache that can’t quite be laughed off. It’s as if every shrug comes with its own punch in the gut, hidden just below the delivery.
Guitars squall and jangle in equal measure, trading between loose sketches and sharp-edged hooks. The whole thing sounds lived-in, as though it was captured between conversations, but that looseness hides a deliberate sense of shape. This is an album that knows exactly how much rope to give before it tightens. Manning Fireworks doesn’t demand attention—it earns it through sly humor, raw detail, and melodies that linger longer than you expect.
Choice Tracks
Joker Lips
A song that snarls with casual menace. The riffs stumble forward like a drunk brawl, yet the delivery is cool, almost dismissive, giving the track a tension between chaos and control that leaves it smoldering long after it ends.
You Are What You Drink
A woozy slow-burn that feels like stumbling home after last call. The vocals lurch, the guitars smear, and in the mess there’s a surprising tenderness that sneaks up and stays lodged in your chest.
Rudolph
Funny, bitter, and strangely sweet. The track rides a jangly riff that almost collapses under its own weight, but Lenderman’s deadpan delivery ties it all together into a story that’s as cutting as it is oddly warm.
Manning Fireworks
The title track feels like the cracked heart of the record. Its guitars bend and sputter, circling around lyrics that mix humor with a flicker of hurt. It’s messy, raw, and unforgettable—exactly the album distilled.
TV Dinners
A slice of domestic banality that somehow becomes mythic. With a riff that feels casual but catchy, the song turns the everyday into something heavy, comic, and just a little tragic.
Manning Fireworks captures MJ Lenderman at his most sly and devastating. Loose guitars, cracked humor, and deadpan delivery turn small details into big truths, leaving a record that sounds tossed-off but hits with surprising weight.