Snail Mail – “Lush” album review

Lindsey Jordan; the wise and romantic mastermind behind ‘Snail Mail’, is a sentimental superstar. At just twenty years old, Jordan is unreservedly aware of the afflictions, infatuations and anguishes of growing up. Her growing pains are documented through instrumental buoyancy and minor melancholy, as well as relatable, sublime lyrics that illustrate Jordan’s tender brilliance.

“Lush” is a sublime, indelible record. It establishes Jordan’s abilities to create enthralling music that is both lyrically mature, and musically potent. Each track takes on a metamorphosis in mood and sound from one another, disallowing itself to be subject to predictability. This is a credit to Jordan both creatively and professionally.

The record’s lead single “Pristine”, is a fine demonstration of the relate-ability that encompasses “Lush”. The track is a youthfully melodramatic commentary on the inability to let go of someone. It documents the pathetic way we become when loosing love. In the track she sighs, ‘I’ll still see you in everything, tomorrow’. This line illustrates the emotional and mental incompetency to move on from someone you love, as though they are a stain on everything you hear, see and do. This is both brilliant and attractively accurate, this one line debuts Jordan’s understanding of the painful, brutal process of heartbreak, showing her lyrics ooze sensitivity, awareness and poignancy. Jordan also illustrates the naivety of loosing love when she exclaims, ‘I’ll never love anyone else’. When in a relationship, we believe that person is our be-all and end-all, and using her lyrical platform, Jordan shows that she too has fallen for this childishness, and is one of us. Musically, “Pristine” is an experimentally exquisite track in one particular way. At the start of every verse, a different guitar line is used which evokes a quirky, unique sound to the track, and highlights Jordan’s creativity and consideration towards her sound.

Jordan’s record also excels in it’s few melancholic tracks, one of them being “Deep sea”, the record’s ninth track. Sad guitar chords, a simple bass drum rhythm, and undoubtedly the best guitar solo of the whole record make up this track. The song details a lonely, depressive state of mind that Jordan was seemingly in, which is clearly found in lines such as ‘wake only to bathe in greens and blue’ and ‘its only you down there’. Both lines are melancholic; the former shows the pointlessness of life at that time for Jordan, and the latter highlights feelings of isolation and loneliness. This track is evidence enough that wisdom is Jordan’s forte.

After listening to “Lush”, it is clear that Jordan is an envious sensation, and is living, existing proof that age cannot measure talent.