Mark Jacob Lenderman was born in Asheville, North Carolina. He’s a busy fellow—in addition to his solo career, he’s a member of the band Wednesday. He’s also carved out a career as a solo performer, releasing four solo albums in quick succession. His rough-hewn sound is appealing, recalling Neil Young, The Replacements, and Uncle Tupelo. He mixes alt-rock and country with a hint of psychedelia.
Lenderman’s music is like a missing link between the nonchalant classic rock of Neil Young and the slacker rock of Pavement. His music often lopes along with seemingly casual lyrics. But it leaves its mark, “You can put your clothes back on/She’s leaving you” is a disarmingly strong opening line. Elsewhere, Lenderman’s lyrical fixations include basketball and Catholicism.
You could argue that he hasn’t yet made an album befitting his talent, but he’s reliably interested thus far.
MJ Lenderman Album Reviews
MJ Lenderman

2019, 7/10
When Lenderman released his solo debut, he worked a day job at an ice cream parlour. He’s come a long way since – now one of indie rock’s brightest rising talents. His debut is slower and sludgier than his later work, reminiscent of Jason Molina’s work in Songs: Ohia. The songs are longer than on his subsequent albums, with nine tracks stretching over an hour. It gives him room to stretch out on guitar, although his guitar playing has become more impressive since.
The snappier songs are at the front end of the record. The most arresting song is ‘Heartbreak Blues’, raw and impassioned. Conversely, ‘Left Your Smile’ is warm and harmonised.
Later in the record, the tempos slow down, pushing Lenderman closer to slowcore. Songs like ‘Southern Birds’ and ‘Ghost Town’ are slow and mournful. It’s a side of Lenderman’s music that he hasn’t explored much since, and I don’t think it’s his strongest suit. Goofy yet insightful is his strongest mode. The most effective slow song is ‘Grief’, with its pretty saxophone.
MJ Lenderman is a promising debut, but his music would become quirkier and more concise.
The Ghost Of Your Guitar Solo
2021
Boat Songs

2022, 8/10
Boat Songs has brought Lenderman more attention. Deservedly so, as his songwriting is sharp, with hummable tunes and fascinating stories. It’s also his first album recorded in a professional studio.
The song usually starts with one line that I like and then I build from there. I try to make a practice of coming up with 20 or so random lines a day. Every once in a while I revisit them and most of them are garbage but sometimes one or two are good.
MJ Lenderman, interview at https://www.bornloser.org/single-post/interview-mj-lenderman
Lenderman is a talented and economical storyteller. The opener ‘Hangover Game’ tells of Michael Jordan missing Game 5 in the NBA finals, while the title of ‘You Have Bought Yourself a Boat’ is self-explanatory. Boat Songs is subtly diverse – ‘Suv’ is fast-paced and punkish, ‘Toontown’ is slow and sludgy like Black Sabbath, while ‘Under Control’ is much closer to country.
MJ Lenderman is engrossing, with his rough-hewn sound and playful sincerity.
Manning Fireworks

2024, 8.5/10
Asheville guitarist and songwriter Jake Lenderman has become a constant fixture in this column. Between his solo career (Manning Fireworks is his fourth solo album in five years), his work as lead guitarist for the band Wednesday, and his appearances as a sideman (he made key contributions on Waxahatchee’s Tiger’s Blood earlier this year), it’s hard to keep pace.
Lenderman recently broke up with Wednesday’s leader, Karly Hartzman. It’s unclear whether songs like ‘She’s Leaving You’ and ‘You Don’t Know the Shape I’m In’ address the breakup directly, but sad resignation permeates the record. Lenderman also likes to write about unlikeable men, something he says “Mostly just because it’s funny to me.”
Like Young, Lenderman’s comfortable with laid-back country or ferocious riff rockers. The latter includes ‘Rudolph’, with a great riff.
Lenderman’s unfiltered, idiosyncratic rock is fascinating. I’m looking forward to more.
10 Best MJ Lenderman Songs
Rudolph
Hangover Game
She’s Leaving You
Heartbreak Blues
Suv
Left Your Smile
In some ways Wednesday don’t make sense on Lenderman’s page, since he’s a supporting piece rather than the leader….
Wednesday
Rat Saw God

2023, 7/10
Karly Hartzman has been prolific this decade. Rat Saw God is her band’s fourth album since 2020. 2020 marks the point when Hartzman recruited a band of musicians to support her. MJ Lenderman, who also has a noteworthy solo career, is the band’s lead guitarist and Hartzman’s romantic partner.
On Wednesday’s fifth album, they play rough-hewn music, combining the rawest elements of country and indie. The album recalls Hartzman’s teenage years, when her father lost his job in the 2008 subprime mortgage crash, making her adolescence even more fraught.
Hartzman is a raw vocalist – it’s not always pleasant, like the second half of the lengthy ‘Bull Believer’ (the first half is killer). She sounds better in tighter structures. I like the punchy riff on ‘Chosen to Deserve’ – even if it feels like it’s been done before, it’s different in the band’s country context, fading into pedal steel. ‘Got Shocked’ moves into shoegaze territory, while ‘Quarry’ almost sounds like a Kinks song.
Hartzman’s raw vocals sometimes make Rat Saw God a tough listen, but there’s some genuine magic.
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