Snail Mail - Ricochet

In the five years since the last Snail Mail album, Lindsey Jordan has left New York, taken up acting - and perhaps most crucially, given herself some space. Her return, ‘Ricochet’, muses on life and the embrace of its uncertainties, combining her natural introspection with assured sonic direction.

‘Tractor Beam’ draws on jangly guitars for a luscious, power-pop infused opening statement, while ‘Hell’ is straight up alt-rock. Shoegaze and dream-pop elements are a constant throughout the record: she may not have been a ‘90s kid but it’s clear where she’s drawing from here - even the spiral cover is reminiscent of The Sundays’ ‘Reading, Writing and Arithmetic’. And while the inspirations are obvious, ‘Ricochet’ isn’t simply a cobbled together pastiche; those inspirations are greater than the sum of their parts, and often complemented by big string arrangements for a lush and expansive soundscape.

Lyrically, the themes are big too. “Don’t need this vessel, don’t need this frame”, she sings on ‘Cruise’. ‘My Maker’ finds her imagining a flight to heaven. This is certainly not the tales of heartbreak and teenage love on which she made her name. But, by building on the power and drive of ‘Valentine’ and the introspection and storytelling of ‘Lush’, ultimately ‘Ricochet’ is a record that lives in the fact that, no matter what, everything changes.