Lush

The songs illustrate a wise-beyond-years songwriting style, with none of the self-importance and indulgence that can come with more experience. Nothing feels trite or contrived. She’s a natural, with an impressive sense of restraint, placing points of tension and release right where they need to be.

Lush is unencumbered and honest, putting emotional pitfalls on full, nuanced display while remaining streamlined and filler-free.

Throughout the record, each line is given its own story. Every vocal feels deeply considered and felt, yet nothing is over-rehearsed. She knows precisely when to dial in and when to dial back, when to fully commit to her longing and when to step back and shake her head at it.

The extra-textual background isn’t as impressive as her music is enjoyable.

Lush is one of the most engaging and relatable indie rock debuts in quite some time.

A debut proving the universal emotional weight in teenage preoccupation with romance. One to watch. [Aug 2018, p.96]

Lush is an album that the devoted will take to their hearts and luxuriate in its sadness. Some may decry the lack of variety on show (there’s a definite template to a Snail Mail song and it’s stuck to rigidly on Lush), but it cannot be denied that this is a debut that promises great things to come.

It’s fair to say Jordan has delivered an album worthy of its 90s indie antecedents, even surpassing some of these.

The record’s brutal frankness belies its lyrical depth–small touches, like the reprisal of the intro track “Anytime” as the album’s closer, leave the listener with a sense of a hopeful, if ambivalent, closure.

The record is peppered with slower solo tracks, but it’s the crunchy, full band material that really points the way forward, adding another name to the growing list of songwriters that are giving indie-rock a new, more relatable voice.

You’re listening to Jordan grow on Lush at the same time as you’re wondering how much room she’s left herself to develop creatively; she’s already sounding polished and bracingly mature.

The heady and patient brand of indie rock that Lush is built upon will undoubtedly perk the ears of fans of Soccer Mommy and Japanese Breakfast-but you get the sense that Jordan's astounding songwriting ability is what truly makes Snail Mail fans, and it's at its very best here.

Even as you nod indulgently to Jordan’s assertion (on “Pristine”) that she’ll never fall in love again (of course you will), even as you worry (in “Golden”) about her a little confronting an ex- by blurting out “I’m not wasted anymore” (are you sure?), there’s an integrity and authenticity to her perspective that commands respect.

It's an impressive formula for a debut, and one that succeeds whether listeners are tuning in more for the soundscape or more for the sentiment.

Jordan exudes a level of confidence that’s all her own, never once flinching at the opportunity to reveal her feelings and insecurities, and it’s her insight and level-headedness that take her music beyond catchy earworms.

For fans who first became acquainted with Jordan’s music around her debut EP Habit, Lush is a continuation of Jordan’s coming of age tale--nostalgia for lost love, the overwhelming sensation of being a rising, young musician and the chaos of getting older. Jordan’s 10-track record parallels the beautiful plain-spoken lyrics and catharsis echoed by artists like Soccer Mommy and Julien Baker.

Jordan ultimately transcends much of the chaos, coming out stronger on the other side. Habit communicated the anguish of endings, but Lush offers hope for new beginnings, arriving at a liberating quietus.

The best indie rock songs can often lean on the shorter side, giving in to the sugar rush of instantly memorable riffs. But Jordan has no qualms about letting her songs draw out, as they do on Lush. That’s because she always has something important to say and it’s worth listening.

Lush marks the arrival of an immensely talented singer-songwriter who also still has much room to grow. It may not live up to those more exuberant expectations of an instant classic, but it’s still an admirable, skillful piece of music that leaves me excited for what comes next. In this case, Jordan hasn’t finished the race. She’s just arrived at the starting line.

There's still a mumblecore sulkiness to Jordan's delivery that drags some songs down, but on tracks like the fingerpicking marvel "Let's Find Out" and "Deep Sea," she finds a distinctive voice all her own. [Aug 2018, p.33]

Lush is best, though, when Jordan stretches out beyond coffeehouse indie-rock busking and embraces deeper Sonic Youth-style textures, on tunes like "Anytime" and "Deep Sea."