Photos by Dylan Simmons
Snail Mail handles human emotion with care. Hailing from Ellicott City, a suburb of Baltimore, singer-songwriter Lindsey Jordan has been performing as Snail Mail since she was fifteen years old. The indie rock band’s third studio album, Ricochet, was released in March, over half a decade since the band’s last LP, Valentine.
Although the band has long graduated from playing local shows in the DMV, they left a nod to their roots onstage. The band played in front of a picturesque white picket fence that shielded a backdrop of a suburban American house. Dappled neon lights onstage diffused into the fog as soft hues of pinks, blues, and oranges, casting long shadows along the art deco metalwork adorning the Wiltern’s walls.
Snail Mail’s rendition of “Tractor Beam”’s upbeat guitar melody was met with cheers of recognition. As the first track off Ricochet, “Tractor Beam” captures what Snail Mail does best: pairing cheerful songs with bittersweet lyrics. Over the course of three and a half minutes, Jordan tells the story of saying goodbye to a lover. She sets the scene of the breakup:
Star fragments falling from her /
She lays by the pool in the summer /
The end was such a bummer /
Vitriol and on and on /
I know you’ll miss me when I’m gone
As Jordan sings the chorus, she embraces her descent into the unknown:
Into the night /
Endless as it might seem /
The future looks so bright /
Skyward on a tractor beam /
Skyward on a tractor beam
The track bridges the evolution in Snail Mail’s discography, shifting Ricochet’s focus from themes of heartbreak and insecurity into explorations of death and purpose. “Tractor Beam” offers just a glimpse into Jordan’s psyche, leaving the crowd eager for another taste.
The crowd swayed to the lilting tune of “Agony Freak,” my personal favorite off Ricochet, that epitomizes the heartfelt songwriting that Jordan has become known for. Pitchfork notes in their Ricochet album review that “Jordan’s songwriting thrives in moments that would slip away were it not for her painstaking dissections: split-second eyelocks across crowded rooms, crushing comments dropped into innocuous conversations, the nervous stammering that precedes a confession — and the silence that hangs in the air while the person who just poured their heart out awaits a response.” My assessment is that Lindsey Jordan loves with a tenderness that only lesbians are capable of, and her songwriting is imbued with such endless intimate perceptions.
In “Agony Freak,” Jordan personifies her self-loathing, detailing the looming presence of her emotions. She sings,
“We don’t need anyone, sorrow and me /
Knockin’ ’em back like there’s nowhere to be /
Summoning something from out of the goo /
Feeling surrounded, feeling subdued”
Dozens of couples dotted the Wiltern pit, enamored by her lovesick songwriting. Spellbound, we watched as Jordan belted the bridge:
“You should get out while you can, girl /
Cutting with a dull knife /
You won’t make it out of my world /
And you’ve got your whole life”
The five-piece touring band included mainstays bassist Alex Bass and drummer Ray Brown, who have been recording and touring with Snail Mail since 2017. Tonight, the trio were also joined by Benjamin Kaunitz as a supporting vocalist and Madeling McCormack, who played anything from keys to saxophone to upright bass. Together, they realized Snail Mail’s layered melodies with a practiced ease.
Snail Mail dialed back the vibe of the night for an acoustic rendition of the title track, “Ricochet.” The song begins with a somber violin, as Jordan croons its hook:
My renegade, can’t stand the way /
I just bounce right off ya, ricochet /
Can’t let you go, so I rearrange /
‘Cause there ain’t no dancing around it /
You have changed /
You have changed
Even as time marches on, the memories of the past still ricochet back towards her, bringing her right back to the grief of the ending of the relationship. Jordan shouts out LA before bringing us to the emotional climax of the song:
You can’t stop now /
My little cliché /
Till you’ve sold out /
All over LA /
All over LA
The crowd at the Wiltern was fully immersed in the soundscape Snail Mail had built for us. Concertgoers hardly recorded the set, and nobody pushed or shoved. I watched as fans danced in place around me, enjoying the production with their breaths drawn in.
Jordan rounded out their encore with “Pristine,” my introduction to Snail Mail. The song brought me back the moment I first heard it, standing in the kitchen of my friend’s Montreal apartment. She tossed our corn salad as she caught me up on what she’s been up to since we first met in London last summer.
As the lead track on the band’s debut album, Lush, “Pristine” has remained a classic among fans and reflects the band’s ethos. The songwriting chronicles Jordan’s heartache for an unrequited love:
“Same night /
Same humility for those that love you /
Anyways, anyways /
And if you do find someone better /
I’ll still see you in everything /
Tomorrow and all the time”
Even eight years after its release, it’s clear why “Pristine” was the catalyst that catapulted Snail Mail into the limelight. The song tells a candid story of yearning that can be universally understood: Jordan sings about her desire with frustration brimming in her voice, supported by a catchy guitar melody and crashing cymbals.
Don’t you like me for me? /
Is there any better feeling than coming clean? /
And I know myself and I’ll never love anyone else /
I won’t love anyone else /
I’ll never love anyone else
As the music faded, I stepped into the opulence of the Wiltern lobby, thinking about memories of encounters with lovers and friends that Snail Mail resurfaced that night. The tenderness ingrained in Snail Mail’s lyricism and production makes for a performance that charms the crowd long after the final note rings out.
Check out Snail Mail’s latest album, Ricochet!
