Biography
Mark Jacob Lenderman, who records as MJ Lenderman, was born on February 4, 1999, in Asheville, North Carolina, and grew up in a musical family; his great-grandfather was the saxophonist Charlie Ventura.[1] He began playing guitar around age seven or eight and spent three semesters at UNC Asheville.[1]
In 2018 he drummed on records by Indigo De Souza and joined the band Wednesday, appearing on the EP How Do You Let Love Into the Heart That Isn't Split Wide Open.[1] A self-titled solo album followed in 2019, then Ghost of Your Guitar Solo (2021) and Boat Songs (2022), the latter widely praised and leading to a deal with ANTI-.[1] The live album And the Wind (Live and Loose!) arrived in 2023, and Manning Fireworks in September 2024.[1]
His sound is usually described as indie rock, alt-country and slacker rock, with Mark Linkous and Jason Molina named among his early listening.[1] He tours with a backing band called the Wind.[1]
Manning Fireworks, recorded in Asheville and co-produced with Alex Farrar, was named the best album of 2024 by The New Yorker.[2] Lenderman has said that after touring resumed following the pandemic he fell out of his writing routine, and that he turned to exercises such as filling pages with unconnected lines to keep it alive; one of the results was "You Don't Know the Shape I'm In."[3]
References
- Wikipedia: MJ Lenderman — Biography and discography
- Wikipedia: Manning Fireworks — Album recording and reception
- Song Exploder, Episode 290: MJ Lenderman — Lenderman on his writing habits and process