It’s that burbling riff at the beginning of the song that really gets to me. A little bit Uncle Tupelo, a little bit Meat Puppets, the guitar makes the song sound like its flopping into wakefulness, still addled over the very concept of morning. Jake Lenderman plies his musical trade with the top-notch Asheville, North Carolina band Wednesday and still finds time to peddle a few solo-made wares under the name MJ Lenderman. It’s the latter endeavor that brings this new track preoccupied with Michael Jordan, including his sneaker-based side hustles and a certain notorious NBA playoff game. It’s the sort of genially scruffy cut that I would have played endlessly in the days when I was taking lead responsibility in a college radio studio a few times per week.

Boat Songs, the new album from MJ Lenderman, is scheduled for release in late March.