a look into manning fireworks: gen z’s most important music project
Mark Jacob Lenderman’s third studio LP is the sound of a generation coming to terms with irony as its foremost defense mechanism, in an era where pathetic masculinity suffocates beneath the weight of its own cultural obsolescence.
It seems as though contemporary indie music is obsessed with the philosophy of shrouding itself in a veil of pretentiousness and self-righteousness. PSA to Cameron Winter: Nobody gives a shit about your stream-of-consciousness diet Leonard Cohen nonsensical bullshit. 2024’s Manning Fireworks serves as a reminder to listeners that it is okay to be a hungover, heartbroken loser. A cultural touchstone for the absurdities of living in a post-pandemic world; it’s a simple, charming, and strangely profound masterclass in songwriting, character sketching, and delivery. It’s the record in which Lenderman truly finds his voice. Whereas his self-titled debut was permeated in Molina’s nauseating heartbreak ballads, Manning Fireworks embraces the David Berman of it all by celebrating and combining cynicism with what it is to be lost in your twenties.
Throughout the album’s nearly 39-minute runtime, (albeit with a 6 minute ambient drone outro of the closing track–which may be my only gripe about MF) every narrator on this thing is a defeatist. Lenderman’s deliberately unbothered delivery opens up the room for the audience to wonder whether or not he actually believes in any of the shit that he’s saying. The brilliance and swagger of juxtaposing the concept of Eric Clapton being the second coming of God with the blunt resignation of “it falls apart, we all got work to do” is just one of the countless examples of memorable world-building on this LP. Lenderman eschews any notions of opulence and pomposity in the songwriting of Manning Fireworks and rather, indulges in his own caricatures of low self-esteem and humor. My favorite thing about this record is simply how fucking relatable, vulnerable, and funny it is. MJ’s got one-liners for days and it positions him as a torchbearer for Gen Z’s increasingly careless and shameful attitude towards the state of the world. There’s no vocal gymnastics or incredibly obscure wordplay going on, which gives this album a magnetic charisma and astonishing replay value. Aside from just being fun and silly, this dude can play the fucking guitar. They’re muffled, cozy, and borrow just enough from the aforementioned influences to leave a twangy taste in your mouth without feeling like he’s reheating anyone’s nachos. The instrumentation on this thing is executed so beautifully without bargaining with the vocals for sound control.
But, Manning Fireworks is so much more than just a great piece of music, it’s the seize and satirization of contemporary American life. Lines like “we sat under a half-mast McDonald’s flag” are a poetic dissection of the American landscape that produces the insecure outlook that people our age have on life. The symbolism of consumerism and corporate ubiquity tied in with the suggestion of solemnity is nothing but genius. Like it’s fucking awesome. The album steers everyday mundanities and goofy lyrics into genuine, relatable art and Lenderman refuses to distinguish the supposed important topics from the stupid ones. The characters are flawed escapists that abstain from performative morality all while being written in a meticulously humorous manner in order to deepen their emotional impact instead of undermining it. For someone who has terrible self-esteem and who likes to drink, an album that measures the distance between who you imagine yourself to be / who you could be and the person your behavior reveals you to be, it’s like I’ve never felt more seen in my entire life. Ballads that commemorate being unremarkable and self-sabotage being casually assembled instrumentally over lyrics that at first listen, may sound ridiculous, is uniquely Lenderman. It’s about being wanted, it’s about being lazy, it’s about being a fucking hungover bum; it’s about everything and nothing all at once. An album that proves that our generation’s ironic attitude is not always the absence of sincerity, and it makes room for that sincerity without asking the characters in the album to be conventionally admirable. His characters are far from heroes but he never denies them their humanity, and when considering the cultural expectations in America that these characters are asked of; irony shines its light as the sole emotional survival instinct. It’s really just perfect.
Call it whatever you want to call it. Form a zombie opinion of it based on Anthony Fantano’s god-awful take on it. This is a perfect album, and one that I feel sincerely honored to have the pleasure of enjoying. It’s a masterclass in humility and lived-in experience, and it is singlehandedly, the most important and relatable recent record.
MJ, fuck you. I flew to Denver Colorado to see you open for Zach Bryan and then you cancelled. And then I had to go to a ZACH BRYAN CONCERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
