Snail Mail – Ricochet (Matador) (13th Floor Album Review)

Snail Mail are back with their third release, Ricochet. The indie group have built on their nineties guitar sound and have brought Mitch Easter (R.E.M) in for producer duties. The result is a polished one. Catchy vocal lines hook you into the darker and brooding lyrics that sit underneath. 

Snail Mail is the band formed around the solo career of singer Lindsey Jordan. Hype was fairly large when she was a teenager and, the 2018 debut, Lush cemented interest as one of the more exciting indie up and comers. This third release marks a darker tone, and more mature textures. As you might expect, Jordan seems to be aiming for something a bit more grown up.

From a quick listen it sort of feels like Ricochet is the tale of two albums. Half of it is heavily laced with the inclusion of a string quartet, providing epic melancholy. And, overall, giving me massive flashbacks to the April Lavigne song I’m With You. The other half is upbeat, catchy alt-pop with downward guitar strums. The deeper I dived, the more I found that wasn’t entirely the case. 

Anyway, a melody not too dissimilar to Peaches by The Presidents of the United States of America greets you on the opener, and most recent release, Tractor Beam. Snail Mail are fairly well known for their guitar lines being fairly firmly grounded in the style of nineties alternative. That’s like catnip for me, so no complaints here. However, while there’s no massively memorable riffs, there’s plenty of intriguing guitar lines sitting under the vocal tracks. Dreamy in all the right places, but punching distorted rhythm made my ears prick up elsewhere. The strumming pattern on My Maker is cool and quirky, taking a simple singer-songwriter number to new levels. 

Jordan has publicly admitted that she is heavily influenced by the trinity of idols; Avril Lavigne, Hayley Williams and Liz Phlair. Vocally, it’s not too hard to pick out where she’s coming from. However, the sugar drenched melodies that you might find irritatingly stuck in your head (at least the way I remember those artists) by those aforementioned are more blunted and alternative. Don’t worry, it’s still a catchy album, but the melodies are little less in your face. Take the single Dead End. Jordan performs a verse would sit at home Avril’s debut, only to slink into discordance in the chorus. At times, she slots into an alt-pop casual vocal-style I would associate with the likes of Fazerdaze. 

Snail Mail have been lauded for their lyrical prowess. Often cleverly setting a mood without divulging too many details. On Ricochet there’s a poetic sense of maturity. I didn’t find myself hanging off every word said, yet felt engaged and interested. 

For a band that are building on an existing era of music, it’s easy to criticize the familiarity of the end result. This is not me saying that Ricochet could be an album you found in your older sibling’s (or Dad’s) CD case under the seat of their 1994 Honda Civic (right next to ‘Simon’s JAMZ 02’). Moreso that it’s rather similar too many alt-pop releases coming out that the moment. I recently reviewed Girl Scout, and honestly, I found both the albums very similar. Yes, it’s a comparison that has been made before. But I’m scratching my head as to what these bands are going to do to deviate from one another.

I’ll say it, it’s a great album. Snail Mail set a brooding tone, but sweet vocal melodies (that aren’t afraid to enter the unusual) make Ricochet a pleasure on the ears. There’s enough nineties influence to encourage you to dust off a pair of baggy trousers and wrap a sweater around your waist. Yet, there’s enough substance to keep you in deep thought about the emotional mood presented.

Daniel Edmonds

Ricochet is out now via Matador Records