The angelic voice of Snail Mail has finally returned to our ears once again after five years since her last album. It has been a while since the brains of Lindsey Jordan graced the world with her beautiful melodies as Snail Mail, and ‘Ricochet’ is a triumphant return.
The 11-track album progresses from her previous releases, which focused on young love. Five years on, the topics are heavier and centre on the anxiety that comes hand in hand with ageing. The raw rock elements from her previous albums ‘Lush’ and ‘Valentine’ have also been filled out with orchestral arrangements that elevate her sound to a new level.
Right from the beginning, ‘Tractor Beam’ layers a playfully jangly guitar above a powerful strum that brings out a refreshed sound of an artist who has had time to shape the sound of this new album. And it certainly has been a busy break for Jordan, who had surgery for vocal polyps before touring 2021’s ‘Valentine’. This brighter sound could be a result of that newfound control of her voice. “Misery feels safe to write about because I am good at it,” she says, “but I’m not bathing in my own agony anymore.”
The stripping of her pain can be seen with full transparency on the track ‘Reverie’. It’s simple and uplifting, so the focus is entirely on her lyrics: “I could do it all the time with you / Life is so worth living now / From our castle in the clouds.” It’s a side to Snail Mail that we perhaps didn’t see as much of before. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Snail Mail record without a few slower, moving songs. ‘Light On Our Feet’ commandeers a strong bass line underneath reflective lyrics: “another year older / Not getting over you”. Equally, ‘Dead End’ mourns simple adolescence over melodic guitars (“to be loved is to be changed”).
‘Agony Freak’ embraces a more electronic soundscape and shifts between electro and gentle guitars to create an interesting sound. Similarly, ‘Butterfly’ has beautiful, fast-paced guitar melodies as the song splits up an upbeat, raw side, with a soft ending, much like the transition from caterpillar to butterfly. Perhaps this is the growth that we are witnessing within Snail Mail herself.
Lead single ‘Dead End’ sits comfortably in the middle of the album. Fierce, raw, and honest, it’s everything that Snail Mail is known for. Strong guitars create an electric soundscape that is the perfect contrast to her soft voice. And yet, this voice is one that sings hard-hitting truths (“You know you make me feel so used”). It’s slick, and she sounds ready to deliver more. In fact, she does deliver more as the titular track kicks off with haunting strings over guitars. It perfectly summarises the older, more retrospective outlook that Jordan has embraced for this album: “If nothing matters / we can do whatever we want.”
Instead of letting go of her youth, Snail Mail embraces it and builds upon her sturdy foundations. Now, we have orchestral rock, and it is pretty damn good.
Lucy Bower
Image: ‘Ricochet’ Official Album Cover
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