Lush
Lindsey Jordan’s voice rises and falls with electricity throughout Lush, her debut album as Snail Mail, spinning with bold excitement and new beginnings at every turn. Throughout Lush, Jordan’s clear and powerful voice, acute sense of pacing, and razor-sharp writing cut through the chaos and messiness of growing up: the passing trends, the awkward house parties, the sick-to-your-stomach crushes and the heart wrenching breakups. Jordan’s most masterful skill is in crafting tension, working with muted melodrama that builds and never quite breaks, stretching out over moody rockers and soft-burning hooks, making for visceral slow-releases that stick under the skin. Lush feels at times like an emotional rollercoaster, only fitting for Jordan’s explosive, dynamic personality. Growing up in Baltimore suburb Ellicot City, Jordan began her classical guitar training at age five, and a decade later wrote her first audacious songs as Snail Mail. Around that time, Jordan started frequenting local shows in Baltimore, where she formed close friendships within the local scene, the impetus for her to form a band. By the time she was sixteen, she had already released her debut EP, Habit, on local punk label Sister Polygon Records. In the time that’s elapsed since Habit, Jordan has graduated high school, toured the country, opened for the likes of Girlpool and Waxahatchee as well as selling out her own headline shows, and participated in a round-table discussion for the New York Timesabout women in punk -- giving her time to reflect and refine her songwriting process by using tempered pacings and alternate tunings to create a jawdropping debut both thoughtful and cathartic. Recorded with producer Jake Aron and engineer Johnny Schenke, with contributions from touring bandmates drummer Ray Brown and bassist Alex Bass as well, Lush sounds cinematic, yet still perfectly homemade.
Snail Mail’s striking debut album is emotionally wise, musically clear, and encompasses the once and future sound of indie rock.
Zeal & Ardor forges an exhilarating new sound on second LP Stranger Fruit; Lykke Li turns inward on the hit-or-miss So Sad So Sexy; and bedroom pop gets a hi-fi makeover on Snail Mail’s full-length debut, Lush. These, plus Angélique Kidjo and Lily Allen in this week’s notable new releases.
The fullness of Snail Mail's sound is impressive, albeit a little predictable; when she hits the mark, the songwriting here is exceptional
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18 year old Lindsey Jordan proves herself an indie-rock prodigy pushing towards a sound of her own on her debut LP
A near-life-long guitarist, she was taking lessons from Mary Timony (Helium, Ex Hex) around the time she released her first Snail Mail EP as a 16-year-old in 2016.
On Lush, Snail Mail maestro Lindsey Jordan always has something important to say, and it’s worth listening to. Lush is a debut burst forth in full technicolour.
Have you ever been afraid of texting the wrong person your most intimate thoughts? If Lindsey Jordan has, it doesn't sound like it. The teen...
Snail Mail's Lindsey Jordan is victim of the music press's fixation with hyperbole.
'Lush', the full length debut by Baltimore guitarist and songwriter Lindsey Jordan under the name Snail Mail finally arrived last week amidst much
The pains of adolescence have a whip-smart no-schmaltz new soundtrack - 18-year-old Baltimore musician Snail Mail's debut 'Lush'.
Snail Mail’s full-length debut album offers hope for new beginnings, arriving at a liberating quietus.
Lush is the debut album from Snail Mail, also known as Baltimore-area musician Lindsey Jordan.
'Lush' by Snail Mail, album review by leslie Chu. The singer/songwriter's debut full-length comes out on May 25th via Matador Records.
Sadness and shred in equal measure on Baltimore teen’s debut. Review by Jo Southerd