Indie-rock artist MJ Lenderman has unveiled the official video for “Wristwatch,” a track from his critically praised album Manning Fireworks, released last fall via ANTI-. Directed by filmmaker Lance Bangs, the visual follows Lenderman behind the wheel of a pickup truck filled with basketballs and inflatable pool toys as he repeatedly collides with an overpass. The collision is meant to serve as a metaphor of resistance, themes that echo throughout his songwriting.

Bangs described “Wristwatch” as embodying a recurring theme in the artist’s work, a cycle of effort without real movement. 

“The imagery of characters caught in persistence without progress that has recurred in his writing was there in “Wristwatch” and that song was the one I went back to the most while listening to the batch of recordings,” Bangs said. 

The music video was inspired by real-life low-clearance bridges in North Carolina, particularly Durham’s infamous “Canopener” bridge. The bridge is well-known for over a hundred documented truck crashes. 

“I took measurements and designed plans to add a few more crashes to Jurgen’s tally,” Bangs jokingly said in a nod to Jurgen Henn, an IT manager at Duke University who films vehicles getting stuck and crashes. 

Following a breakout 2024, which included performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show and Tiny Desk, Lenderman is heading back out on the road. His spring and summer tour will take him across North America, the UK and Europe with appearances at various festivals including Green River on June 22nd and ShoalsFest on October 12th.