MJ Lenderman has shared ‘Joker Lips’, the latest single from his upcoming album ‘Manning Fireworks’. Check it out below.
The third single from his recently-announced fourth album, ‘Joker Lips’ sees Lenderman ruminate on loneliness and the feeling of being misunderstood. “Please don’t laugh / Only half of what I said was a joke,” he deadpans over a tender, fuzzy guitar. Later, he delivers a heart-wrenching shred of sincerity: “You know I love my TV/ But all I really wanna see is see you near me.”
Lenderman has also shared a Ben Turok-directed music video to accompany ‘Joker Lips’ that sees him perform the track with a band on an overgrown hillside, against the backdrop of a hazy sunset. Check it out below.
‘Joker Lips’ follows previous singles ‘Rudolph’ and ‘She’s Leaving You’. ‘Manning Fireworks’ is due out on September 6 via ANTI-. The album is now available for pre-order and pre-saving on streaming platforms.
Per a press release, ‘Manning Fireworks’ sees Lenderman deal with the success of his previous album ‘Boat Songs’: “Lenderman used that pressure to ask himself what kind of musician he wanted to be — one who could sort through his sea of cultural jetsam and one-liners to say something real about himself and his world, to figure out how he fits into all this mess.”
The upcoming record – his fourth – follows on from the three studio records that the indie guitarist has already released as a solo act: ‘MJ Lenderman’ (2019), ‘Ghost of Your Guitar Solo’ (2021) and ‘Boat Songs’ (2022). Last year, he released the live album ‘And the Wind (Live and Loose!)’.
MJ Lenderman will be heading on an EU and UK tour later this year. He’ll kick off with a show in Berlin’s Privatcub on November 11, before heading to Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris. Then he’ll play two shows in London on 18 and 19 November and wrap up in Dublin on November 24.
See the full list of dates below and find tickets here.
MJ Lenderman 2024 UK and EU tour dates are:
November
11 — Berlin, Germany @ Privatclub
12 — Hamburg, Germany @ Hafenklang
14 — Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Bitterzoet
15 — Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique Witloof Bar
16 — Paris, France @ Point Ephemere
18 — London, UK @ The Garage
19 — London, UK @ The Garage
21 — Manchester, UK @ YES Pink Room
22 — Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
23 — Dublin, IE @ Workman’s Club
24 — Dublin, IE @ Whelan’s
The post Listen to MJ Lenderman’s pensive new single ‘Joker Lips’ appeared first on NME.