Wednesday are having a huge year with Rat Saw God and an endless tour supporting it, but don’t forget the glow-up guitarist Jake Lenderman enjoyed last year with Boat Songs, his exceptional album as MJ Lenderman. His rise looks set to continue with today’s news that he has signed to the esteemed ANTI- Records.

Lenderman’s first single for the label, “Rudolph,” is out today, ahead of a weekend run of shows that will take him to Nashville, Bloomington, Chicago (for Pitchfork Music Festival), and Nelsonville (for Nelsonville Music Festival). “How many roads must a man walk down til he learns/ He’s just a jerk who flirts with the clergy nurse til it burns,” Lenderman sings, after referencing a traumatic incident for one of Santa’s reindeer. “Rudolph” features pedal steel and backup vocals from Wednesday’s Xandy Chelmis, but otherwise Lenderman plays everything here.

A word from the Lender-man himself:

“Rudolph” was the first song I wrote after the release of Boat Songs. I had been sitting on the guitar part for a long time and slowly worked out the song whenever I could in between tours in 2022. I finished the lyrics with my friend one late night after a Wednesday gig in Atlanta.

Watch the “Rudolph” video below.