Snail Mail’s Dead End: More Pop with the Same Edge

Snail Mail, aka Lindsey Erin Jordan, has been making music for over a decade. However, she has been out of the scene for a little bit due to finding polyps on her vocal cords. After a successful surgery, she is back with her record Ricochet. This is a follow-up to the commercially and critically successful Valentine….which has the amazing title track. Snail Mail not only is behind the vocals, but she is the one shredding some edgy riffs on that title track…so does she still have that edge on Dead End?

Before we answer that question, let’s take a deeper look at the track. Valentine has this stripped back punk energy with huge guitar riffs over the hook and stark minimalism over most of the track. In contrast, Dead End jumps out of the gate with a great drum line and some glittery indie pop guitar. The guitar itself has a bit of a shoegaze varnish over it as notes jump and dance over the drums. Even though there is a joyful vibe to the guitar as it jumps in the mix, there is still a punk edge to everything. There’s this rawness to the guitar and music…a little of a DIY ragged fraying at the edges. Think of some early 90s Sub Pop stuff…maybe even some early Sonic Youth or Siamese Dream era Smashing Pumpkins. They have some of that pop glitter, but you only need to scratch the surface a little to get to the punk…like Bikini Kill dressing up for school photos….it’s a bit cleaned up, but it’s still Bikini Kill.

That tension between glitter and punk really comes through in the vocal. I have always loved Snail Mail’s vocal. It has a raw power that you can’t get in a lot of indie music. On Dead End she keeps that raw punk edge, but is still able to hit some glittery pop highs as the music soars right before the hook. Thematically, she follows a structure laid down by the Smiths and the Cure before her…joyful music with depressing lyrics. In this track it is about the pain of a relationship breaking down. Having said all of that, I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the killer bridge and outro. There is this crunchy Bikini Kill / L7 – esque bridge where she sings about how with all the pain she still thinks about her ex. This leads into a very poppy call and response sing along outro, which is a ton of fun and acts as a nice coda to the track.

I love Snail Mail. Her music has so much heart, vulnerability and honesty. It always hits me. The punk edge and power I fell in love with on Valentine is still there, but now with some added pop flare. Snail Mail’s power has not been diminished in the least and it’s great to get some new music from her.

Listen to Dead End