By Ava Mandel
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.”
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. With rhythmic riffs and a melodic voice, “Habit” is about the angst-filled years of high school. 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. Jordan sings of unrequited crushes, creating an identity and escaping the confines of suburbia.
However, singing about the naivety that comes with adolescence is not the only topic Snail Mail covers.
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. 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 [who sexualize female musicians].”
The tracks on “Habit” empower females while also addressing change, growing pains and uncertainty. Jordan said of the album, “All the songs on “Habit” are collectively like: a sigh. 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. I felt really complacent. Most of the songs were me having these crazy unattainable crushes and being like, ‘What am I doing?’”
Jordan wrote “Thinning” when she was both physically ill with bronchitis and emotionally lovesick. She was losing weight from the bronchitis and losing layers of emotion over her lovelornness.
“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.
The solemn mood of the songs on “Habit” take root in the new style of guitar tunings that Jordan began playing while writing “Habit.” The single, “Habit,” centers on how – even though change can be uncomfortable – it is necessary in order to leave a boring and predictable suburban life.
“Static Buzz” emphasizes the fuzzy feeling that comes along with the crushing pain of debating to talk to your crush. “Dirt” draws out the dirty feeling weighing you down over an unrequited crush. “Slug” creates its own identity with its sharp lyrics about the difficulties that come with creating your own identity. “Stick” lingers with the listener through its words of the pain that sticks around long after the people who’ve wronged you have left.
In its essence, “Habit” paints a somber portrait of the growing pains of adolescence. Snail Mail recently performed an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, signed to Matador Records and looks forward to releasing a full-length album in the near future.
