It’s been a banner year and a half for the unassuming MJ Lenderman. Thanks to both his solo work and his role in modern Southern rock group Wednesday, the Asheville guitarist has become a genuine indie-rock star. His recent output has included his 2022 breakthrough Boat Songs, last month’s stellar live collection And the Wind (Live and Loose!), and Wednesday’s anthemic Rat Saw God, which showcased the communal side to Lenderman’s guitar playing. Another solo album is on the way, but in the meantime, a new reissue of Lenderman’s self-titled 2019 debut—including its first-ever vinyl edition—offers a fresh look at his fuzz-rock origins.
For anyone who discovered Lenderman through bite-sized vignettes like “Someone Get the Grill Out of the Rain,” the droniness of MJ Lenderman may come as a surprise. These songs sprawl to six or eight minutes in length, filled out with molasses-slow drums from Owen Stone and circuitous guitar melodies from Lenderman and Lewis Dahm. (The band also includes frequent Lenderman collaborators Colin Miller and Xandy Chelmis on bass and lap steel, respectively, along with guest appearances from Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman, Indigo De Souza, and saxophonist Alex Brown.) Yet the album doesn’t feel plodding or dense; as the song “Space” would suggest, Lenderman gives these tracks room to breathe, letting a single strum or burst of reverb play out for a moment before the band comes back together like a long exhale.
On his earlier work, Lenderman took inspiration from Jason Molina, and anyone familiar with the Songs: Ohia/Magnolia Electric Co. oeuvre will recognize some of its hallmarks here. You can hear Molina’s bleating inflection in Lenderman’s singing on “Heartbreak Blues,” his voice scraping the rafters of his tenor register, or in the multiple references to “the darkness” that punctuate the album’s musings on loneliness. But underneath the gravitas, Lenderman’s plainspoken style offsets the heaviness with candid observations. “Southern Birds” sounds like it was inspired by nothing more than what Lenderman saw outside his window one morning, and that simplicity brings levity and warmth to the whole record.
Lenderman shines an ample spotlight on his collaborators, which also helps cut through any self-seriousness. The album’s centerpiece is “Left Your Smile,” a gorgeous song built around a guitar hook reminiscent of Drive-By Truckers in which Lenderman’s voice is completely absent from the chorus, replaced by De Souza’s low, ghostly howl. On “Grief,” Lenderman distills the feeling into its most elemental form—“There’s a part of you/I wanna hold in my hands/A part of you I want again”—while letting Alex Brown’s mournful saxophone take center stage.
On subsequent records, Lenderman has found his signature in a distinctive blend of deadpan humor, tight grooves, and heavy distortion. But the charm of MJ Lenderman lies in watching him trying things and seeing what sticks. With “Basketball #1”—which would get a sequel on his Lucky EP—Lenderman hints at the empathetic, character-driven stories that will later become his stock in trade. In the middle of reuniting with an old flame, Lenderman goes off on a drawn-out tangent, describing a kid he used to play basketball with who’s now fallen on hard times. “Anyways,” he intones, cutting himself off, “I’m glad you got out of all the bad things you’ve been in.” Through the sorrow and darkness, Lenderman shows that relief can be its own kind of euphoria.
