She's also said that in this iteration of Snail Mail, she actively avoids looking "messy" to the public eye as she goes about life. Jordan has discussed her remorse over exposing too much of herself emotionally during the past two years. Meanwhile, on "Valentine," she assumes a raw, heart-wrenching belt that blazes with betrayal and extreme desire.Īs her star has grown, Jordan knows that eyes are consistently on her, and the armor of being a teenager - the freedom to present yourself immaturely - has been shed. On the spare acoustic ballad "Light Blue," she confidently wears a featherlight falsetto: "Nothing's gonna stop me now," she repeats, her voice gliding with impeccable control. The throughline between all these modes is Jordan's attention to detail, allowing even the most seemingly left-field songs feel authentically Snail Mail.īut what's most notably changed between Lush and Valentine is Jordan's voice, which has graduated from a childlike drawl to become fuller with a wider range.
She channels the thumping pop-rock of Garbage on "Ben Franklin," the mellow R&B of early Nelly Furtado on "Forever (Sailing)" and the distorted chug of Drop Nineteens on "Glory." On the title track, she flits seamlessly between lethargic, synthy verses and an arena-sized chorus. While Lush embraced the no-frills indie rock of her Matador predecessors like Pavement and early Liz Phair (unsurprisingly, Jordan played in a Liz Phair cover band in high school), Valentine sees Jordan adopt a wider array of influences to her benefit. with producer Brad Cook, whose resume includes the most recent albums by Waxahatchee and Bon Iver - artists who, like Snail Mail, have built upon their scrappy beginnings and opted for a more expansive sound in their latest records. It's these subtleties that distinguish and amplify Jordan's songwriting.Īs Jordan has undergone personal evolution, her sound has undergone a similar transformation.
al.," she spells out the pressures of being indie rock royalty: "Even with a job that keeps me moving / Most days I just wanna lie down." She directly references that aforementioned treatment program in the synthy groove "Ben Franklin": "Post-rehab, I've been feeling so small / I miss your attention, I wish I could call." She's also a self-proclaimed perfectionist, which as a songwriter, means each word is sung with an abundance of intentionality: "You'll always know where to find me when you change your mind," she hollers on "Valentine." Her choice to say "when" rather than "if" is deliberate, and all the more excruciating. Wearing her heart on her sleeve is nothing new for Jordan, but she's expectedly gone through a lot of emotional upheaval since Lush, and she's not afraid to confront the hardships she's faced with a blunt transparency. If Lush documented the euphoria of first loves, then Valentine is a bitter snapshot of the startling moments when you realize even the most promising relationships aren't guaranteed to last forever.
While its predecessor approached love with a sense of wide-eyed innocence ("Don't you like me for me?" she begged on "Pristine"), Valentine, which Jordan wrote by herself in her childhood bedroom during 20, is a collection of shockingly frank reflections on romance that often highlight the ugly sides of a partnership gone awry. When she emerged, she finally felt ready to assemble Lush's ambitious follow-up, Valentine. Citing the stress of having thrown herself into her music career while she was so young (the earliest Snail Mail material dates back to when she was just 15), the now 22-year-old spent a month and a half in a rehab facility late last year, where she had no phone and no proper recording equipment. Understandably, Jordan found that being named the Next Big Thing before she could even legally order a beer was a heavy cross to bear.
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