“Thinning” takes on the form of a bear-trap, with its lyrics exemplifying this “caught in-between” vibe, transmitting Jordan’s feeling of being stuck to the listener. She was losing weight from the bronchitis and losing layers of emotion over her lovelornness. Jordan wrote “Thinning” when she was both physically ill with bronchitis and emotionally lovesick. Most of the songs were me having these crazy unattainable crushes and being like, ‘What am I doing?’” At this point in my life, I’ve found who I am, what I’m doing, who my friends are and who I want to be – but while I was writing that EP, I was just so unsure and unhappy.
Jordan said of the album, “ All the songs on “Habit” are collectively like: a sigh. The tracks on “Habit” empower females while also addressing change, growing pains and uncertainty. But I want there to be a situation where girls know – or anyone knows – that you don’t have to prove yourself to those kinds of people. While discussing what it’s like to be a female in a male-dominated music industry in an interview with Pitchfork, Jordan said, “ There’s this thing where it seems like to be a girl in a field that’s all boys, you have to be better than everyone else. However, singing about the naivety that comes with adolescence is not the only topic Snail Mail covers. Jordan sings of unrequited crushes, creating an identity and escaping the confines of suburbia. The tracks have a sleepy tone paired with lyrics that slap you awake with their ability to make the listener reminisce about their teenage crises. With rhythmic riffs and a melodic voice, “Habit” is about the angst-filled years of high school. Seventeen-year-old Jordan hails from Ellicott City, Maryland, and sings about the most tumultuous stage of life – adolescence and all the phases within it. On Snail Mail’s bandcamp page, their tags include “indie,” “lo-fi,” and “ pop” and each one feels fitting given the band’s indefinable, interchangeable, and individual sound.Snail Mail is Lindsey Jordan’s three-piece band that keeps on rocking the status quo in the indie-rock genre with their 2016 EP, “Habit.” Overall, this song is a powerhouse, from thoughtful lyrics like “And did things work out for you?/Or are you still not sure what the means?” to its steady, hypnotizing tempo. There’s also a playful nuance to the album’s instrumental aspect, which can be hard to hear because everything sounds so well connected, creating an impressive fluidity from song to song.Ī standout track on the album to me is “Stick,” as it feels like a musical embodiment of that moment when a relationship, or a hopeful relationship, doesn’t work out and you’re slowly piecing yourself back together and trying to find closure. A prime example being “Static Buzz,” in which Jordan belts at the end “Shutters on my house/Keep the sunlight in/If that’s not enough to keep the people out/Then I don’t wanna know what’s on the other side,” where the crescendo comes subtly and then hits all at once. At first listen, her voice could be considered nothing much, but it holds a raw power to it, especially in songs where there’s an accumulation of subtle breaks in her voice at the end of phrases.
Not to mention, Jordan’s unique voice does well in emphasizing the lyrics’ emotion. As a whole, the album creates a sense of growth and recollection over one’s own emotions, a recognition of youthful struggles that can sometimes seem meaningless but feel heart aching in the moment. The album is comprised of six songs, each minimalistic in title but dynamic in sound, as each one focuses on the concept of reflection (particularly regarding one’s personal sadness). Habit is their first album, preceded by their ep, Sticki, released last spring. Snail Mail is a trio from Baltimore, fronted by Lindsey Jordan, guitar/vocals, with Shawn Durham on drums (live is Ray Brown), and Ryan Vieira on bass (live is Alex Bass). However, Habit, by Snail Mail, has a resilience and individual aspect in it’s sound that conveys a more honest, reflective spent summer.
When it comes to summer music I’m as content as the next person with upbeat and catchy tunes that border somewhere between pop, indie, and surf rock.