Hear Me Out: ‘You Don’t Know The Shape I’m In’ should have been MJ Lenderman’s breakout song
Born Mark Jacob Lenderman, multi-instrumentalist MJ Lenderman emerged onto the music scene the way so many talented musicians do – by uploading videos onto Bandcamp.
Having grown up listening to the likes of Mark Linkous and Jason Molina, his folk-inspired sound soon attracted the attention of fellow Asheville artist Indigo De Souza, who asked Lenderman to play drums on her debut album I Love My Mom, released in 2018.
Soon after, the then 19-year-old musician met Karly Hartzman, the vocalist of Wednesday, who played alongside on the band’s EP How Do You Let Love Into the Heart That Isn’t Split Wide Open. The following year, while working at an ice cream shop, Lenderman released his self-titled debut album before touring with Wednesday. After the band’s venture was cut short by the pandemic, Lenderman wrote what would later form his sophomore LP, Ghost of Your Guitar Solo, released in 2021.
But it wasn’t until his third album, Boat Songs, was released via Dear Life Records, that Lenderman received critical acclaim. Having caught the attention of the music press, Lenderman’s Boat Songs became a breakout in every sense of the word, with tracks like ‘Hangover Game’ and ‘Tastes Just Like It Costs’ showcasing the singer-songwriter’s growing assuredness both through his developing sound and eccentric songwriting.
Fast forward to the present day, following the release of his 2024 album, Manning Fireworks, Lenderman’s exponential rise to fame is yet to dip. Released via Anti- and Epitaph Records, the musician’s fourth studio album was met with widespread acclaim from critics as well as fans, who were mesmerised by the skill on display.
Featuring hit tracks ‘Wristwatch’, ‘Joker Lips’ and ‘She’s Leaving You’ – the latter of which has been coined as “the cure to male loneliness” given its narrative focus on an unfaithful man amid a midlife crisis – Manning Fireworks is undoubtedly Lenderman’s strongest work to date. Still, there remain a number of songs on the album that deserve closer inspection, namely the seventh track ‘You Don’t Know The Shape I’m In’ – a musical masterpiece that, had it been released before Boat Songs, would have been MJ Lenderman’s breakout song.
Described by Anti- as “a bummer acoustic blues” track, ‘You Don’t Know The Shape I’m In’ offers listeners three-and-a-half minutes of existential crisis. Here, an acoustic melody blends over the sound of a drum machine, brushed snare and woodwinds, creating an atmosphere that makes the track perfect for open-air, live performances. Trust me, I’ve seen it being played in exactly this setting.
Still, the beauty of the track lies between the lines – that is, our inference of the lyrics. Opening with “some say distance grows the heart/ But I know sometimes we just drift apart”, it’s clear from the off that the track deals with a heavy theme, despite Lenderman having told WNYC that his songs start with something that made him laugh. Pulling from the bible (“everybody’s walking in twos/ Leaving Noah’s ark”) and the outright absurd (“we sat under a half-mast McDonald’s flag”), Lenderman’s witty lyricism nods to the likes of John Cooper Clarke or Alex Turner.
In terms of the track’s narrative, we follow two individuals slowly growing apart from one another. Whether this distance occurred naturally or as a result of the mistreatment (insinuated in the line “all you had to do was be nice”) is left unclear. But what is certain is Lenderman’s comment on impermanence.
People change, often revealing something hidden, and while we might ask our loved ones how they are, we do not grasp the full weight of their feelings, nor the significance of what remains unsaid.
