Boat Songs Explained

Boat Songs
Type:studio
Artist:MJ Lenderman
Cover:Boat Songs album cover.jpg
Studio:Drop of Sun, Asheville, North Carolina
Genre:
Length:33:40
Label:Dear Life
Producer:MJ Lenderman
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Next Year:2023

Boat Songs is the third solo album by American musician MJ Lenderman. It was released on April 29, 2022, by Dear Life Records.[1] The album was listed on several publications' lists of the best albums of 2022.

Release

On January 25, 2022, Stereogum managing editor Chris DeVille announced the release date of the album alongside the music video for "Hangover Game," comparing the album to Jason Molina, Uncle Tupelo, and Pinegrove.[2] In March, Stereogum senior editor Tom Breihan posted the music video for second single "TLC Cage Match." The song is named after the tables, ladders, and chairs WWE match style, which it uses as a metaphor for self-destructive behavior.[3]

On April 29, 2022, Boat Songs was released on Dear Life Records via Bandcamp in digital form, CD, vinyl, and cassette.[1]

Critical reception

Sasha Geffen at Pitchfork praised Lenderman's alt-country songwriting for its "disarming insights into the fray of living" delivered with fuzzy, lo-fi distortion, "loping, lackadaisical melodic phrasing," and "gentle, unhurried deadpan." Dillon Riley, writing for Flood Magazine, characterized Lenderman's writing as economical, yet low-brow compared to the more literary writing of his Wednesday bandmate Karly Hartzman.[4] Uncuts Erin Osmon described Boat Songs with comparisons to John Prine, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and Drive-By Truckers's Patterson Hood, praising Lenderman's "refreshing and thoroughly unpretentious perspective" that, by imbuing working-class signifiers with depth and importance, blurs the boundary between high and low art.

Year-end lists

The A.V. ClubHere Are the 30 Best Albums of 202227[5]
The AlternativeThe Alternatives Top 50 Albums of 20224[6]
The Bitter SouthernerThe Best Southern Albums of 20229[7]
ConsequenceTop 50 Albums of 202249[8]
PasteThe 50 Best Albums of 202210[9]
PitchforkThe 50 Best Albums of 202235[10]
The RingerThe 33 Best Albums of 202212[11]
Rolling StoneThe 100 Best Albums of 202298[12]
StereogumThe 50 Best Albums of 202211[13]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's Bandcamp release page.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Boat Songs . Bandcamp . 2022-12-08 . 2022-04-29.
  2. Web site: DeVille . Chris . Wednesday's MJ Lenderman Announces New Album Boat Songs . Stereogum . 2022-12-08 . 2022-01-25.
  3. Web site: Breihan . Tom . Wednesday's MJ Lenderman Shares New Solo Single "TLC Cage Match" . Stereogum . 2022-12-08 . 2022-03-16.
  4. Web site: Riley . Dillon . MJ Lenderman, Boat Songs . Flood Magazine . 2022-12-08 . 2022-04-29.
  5. Web site: Here Are the 30 Best Albums of 2022 . The A.V. Club . 2022-12-12 . 2022-12-12.
  6. Web site: The Alternative's Top 50 Albums of 2022 & Yearly Awards . The Alternative . 2022-12-28 . 2022-12-20.
  7. Web site: The Best Southern Albums of 2022 . The Bitter Southerner . 2022-12-08 . 2022-12-06.
  8. Web site: Top 50 Albums of 2022 . Consequence . Consequence Media . 2022-12-28 . 2022-12-06.
  9. Web site: The 50 Best Albums of 2022 . Paste . 2022-12-08 . 2022-11-28.
  10. Web site: The 50 Best Albums of 2022 . Pitchfork . 2022-12-08 . 2022-12-06.
  11. Web site: The 33 Best Albums of 2022 . The Ringer . Spotify . 2022-12-28 . 2022-12-06.
  12. The 100 Best Albums of 2022 . Rolling Stone . Penske Media Corporation . 2022-12-28 . 2022-12-01.
  13. Web site: The 50 Best Albums of 2022 . Stereogum . 2022-12-28 . 2022-12-06.

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