Lush (Snail Mail album)
Lush | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 8, 2018 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Indie rock[1] | |||
Length | 38:16 | |||
Label | Matador | |||
Producer | Jake Aron | |||
Snail Mail chronology | ||||
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Singles from Lush | ||||
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Lush is the debut studio album by American indie rock musician Snail Mail, released on June 8, 2018 through Matador Records.[2] The album was produced by Jake Aron.
Three singles preceded the release of the album: "Pristine",[3] "Heat Wave",[4] and "Let's Find an Out".[5]
Lush was nominated for Best Rock Album at the Libera Awards.[6]
Background and recording
Between 2016 and 2018, Lindsey Jordan put out her debut EP Habit, she signed a recording contract with Matador Records, she toured the US and Europe and graduated high school. In an interview with DIY magazine in 2018, Jordan said of the writing process for Lush, "I was putting pressure on myself to make something that mattered to me, so when I graduated it was even harder because it was like ‘Oh I have time [now], why do I not want to write?’" she explains of adapting to post-high school life during the space between working on the two releases. "I kind of had to teach myself to love [writing] again and do it for my own reasons; that’s sort of when all the songs started to be better."[7]
Talking about her unique process an interview with
Jordan had a firm idea of what she wanted Lush to sound like, and her producer Jake Aron (who has worked with Solange and Grizzly Bear), said he was impressed by her poise. In an interview with The New York Times in May 2018, he said of Jordan's abilities, "The importance of what she’s saying is really central to what makes her music so special, so she really pushed me for clarity in the production... It’s crazy she knows this much."[10] Lush was recorded with Jake Aron, who Lindsay Jordan chose based on his pop sensibilities and overall vibe.
Snail Mail had previously recorded their 2016 EP Habit live, and taking care and time to work on a studio album was a totally new experience for the band. Jordan suffered from bouts of severe anxiety while working on the album in upstate New York. She wasn't used to the pressure of having to crank something out on someone else's timeline, let alone a major indie label's. "It was like this fake-relaxing environment with a pond and animals and shit, and like trees and shit, so it was supposed to be relaxing but I was going crazy... I thought we were in purgatory." Jordan wrote about 30 songs that could have made it onto this album.[8]
Release and promotion
The first single to be released from Lush was the song "Pristine", which was released on March 18, 2018. An accompanying lyrical music video was released on March 21, 2018 which featured Lindsey Jordan singing the song surrounded by the song's lyrics and visuals based on the album artwork for Lush. The single would receive rave reviews from music critics, with Patrick Mcdermott from
”Heat Wave", the album's second single, was released on April 26, 2018. The single also features an accompanying music video directed by Brandon Herman which was released on the same day. The video features sequences of Lindsey Jordan playing ice hockey contrasted with footage of her performing the song alone. "Heat Wave" was well-received by critics, with Rolling Stone’s Simon Vozick-Levinson writing "Lindsey Jordan’s song for a green-eyed dream strikes as quick as lightning or a summer crush."[14] The single peaked at No. 94 on the Belgium Ultratop singles chart.[15]
“Let’s Find an Out" was released on May 16, 2018 as the third and final single from Lush. While the first two singles can be considered fast indie rock songs with loud guitars and emotional vocals, "Let’s Find an Out" is much more delicate and calm song by comparison. The single would also go on to receive widespread acclaim. James Retting of Stereogum wrote in a review of the track, "It’s deftly played, just Jordan and a gorgeous weave of interlocking guitars, and it gets a lot across in only two minutes. The song straddles the line between hopeful and wistful; there’s talk of starting anew, but doubt over the possibility hangs in the air."[16]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.8/10[17] |
Metacritic | 80/100[18] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [19] |
The A.V. Club | A−[20] |
Exclaim! | 9/10[21] |
The Independent | [22] |
Mojo | [23] |
Pitchfork | 8.7/10[24] |
Q | [25] |
Rolling Stone | [26] |
Slant Magazine | [27] |
Uncut | 7/10[28] |
At
In a positive review, The A.V. Club awarded Lush an A−, while also writing "The crushing sameness of the existence described in Snail Mail’s music means that not every song on Lush is essential, but when Jordan hits, she hits a bullseye, with mini-indie masterpieces like “Pristine" and "Heat Wave" set to inspire another generation of songwriters."[31]
Lush would go on to be ranked at No. 45 on Paste magazine's 100 Best Albums of the Decade,[32] No. 48 in Stereogum's 100 Best Albums of the Decade,[33] and No. 122 in Pitchfork's 200 Best Albums of the Decade.[34]
"Pristine" was ranked No. 6 on Pitchfork's 100 Best Songs of the Year,[35] No. 13 in Rolling Stone's 50 Best Songs of 2018,[36] and No. 36 on The Guardian's Top 100 Songs of 2018.[37]
Year-end lists
Publication | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Billboard | 25 | [38] |
Consequence of Sound
|
22 | [39] |
Entertainment Weekly | 13 | [40] |
Fopp | 91 | [41] |
NBHAP
|
14 | [42] |
NPR | 49 | [43] |
Noisey
|
4 | [44] |
Paste | 5 | [45] |
Pitchfork | 5 | [46] |
The Skinny | 35 | [47] |
Stereogum | 2 | [48] |
Uproxx | 5 | [49] |
Track listing
All tracks are written by Lindsey Jordan
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" | 1:12 |
2. | "Pristine" | 4:55 |
3. | "Speaking Terms" | 3:35 |
4. | "Heat Wave" | 5:08 |
5. | "Stick" | 5:13 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
6. | "Let's Find an Out" | 2:13 |
7. | "Golden Dream" | 3:27 |
8. | "Full Control" | 2:55 |
9. | "Deep Sea" | 4:42 |
10. | "Anytime" | 4:38 |
Total length: | 38:16 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Lush.[50]
Band
- Lindsey Jordan – vocals; guitar
- Ray Brown – drums
- Alex Bass – bass
Additional musicians
- James Richardson – French horn (on "Deep Sea")
- Sam Ubl – percussion (on "Speaking Terms", "Heat Wave", "Stick" and "Full Control")
- Jake Aron – piano; organ; ambient guitar; percussion
Production and artwork
- Jake Aron – producer; engineer; mixer
- Jonathan Schenke – engineer
- Joe LaPorta – mastering engineer
- Lucas Carpenter – assistant engineer
- Michael Lavine – photography
- Mike Zimmerman – design
Charts
Chart (2018) | Peak position |
---|---|
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[51] | 10 |
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[52] | 91 |
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[53] | 20 |
US | 2
|
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[55] | 11
|
US | 20
|
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[57] | 42
|
US | 43
|
US | 9
|
References
- Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ "Lush by Snail Mail on Apple Music". Apple Music. June 8, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ Blais-Billie, Braudie (March 21, 2018). "Snail Mail Announces Debut Album Lush, Shares New Song "Pristine"". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ Colburn, Randall (April 27, 2018). "Snail Mail share new single "Heat Wave" and video". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ Rettig, James (May 16, 2018). "Snail Mail – "Let's Find an Out"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ "A2IM Reveals 2019 Libera Awards Nominees: Mitski, Bad Bunny, Snail Mail & More". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-04-08.
- ^ "Lush Life: Snail Mail". diymag.com. 11 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Snail Mail 'Lush' Interview". March 21, 2018.
- ^ "Snail Mail's Lindsey Jordan on writing about love: 'It's good to be vulnerable, but not pathetic'". The Independent. May 29, 2018.
- ^ Ganz, Caryn (May 16, 2018). "An Indie-Rock Star at 18? Snail Mail Is Figuring It Out". The New York Times.
- ^ "Snail Mail's "Pristine" is pretty much an indie rock masterpiece". The FADER.
- ^ Katzif, Mike (21 March 2018). "Love And Sadness Linger In Snail Mail's 'Pristine'". NPR.org.
- ^ "Snail Mail sings "Pristine" in Simlish for Sims 4: Island Living: Stream". June 21, 2019.
- ^ "Snail Mail's 'Heat Wave' Is the Song of the Summer". Rolling Stone. June 22, 2018.
- ^ "Ultratip Bubbling Under – ultratop.be". Ultratop.
- ^ "Snail Mail – "Let's Find an Out"". Stereogum. 2018-05-16. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
- ^ "Lush by Snail Mail reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
- ^ a b "Lush by Snail Mail Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ Donelson, Marcy. "Lush – Snail Mail". AllMusic. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
- ^ Rife, Katie (June 8, 2018). "Snail Mail, Lush". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ^ Bobkin, Matt (June 5, 2018). "Snail Mail: Lush". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ^ Kaplan, Ilana; Beech, Dave (June 6, 2018). "Album reviews: Lykke Li's 'so sad, so sexy', Gruff Rhys's 'Babelsberg' and more". The Independent. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ^ Bulley, Jenny (August 2018). "Snail Mail: Lush". Mojo (297): 96.
- ^ a b Dombal, Ryan (June 8, 2018). "Snail Mail: Lush". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
- ^ Davies, Hannah J. (Summer 2018). "Snail Mail: Lush". Q (387): 114.
- ^ Grow, Kory (June 8, 2018). "Review: Snail Mail's 'Lush' Is The Work of An Indie-Rock Prodigy". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
- ^ Ordaz, Sophia (May 30, 2018). "Snail Mail: Lush". Slant Magazine. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ^ Troussé, Stephen (August 2018). "Snail Mail: Lush". Uncut (255): 33.
- Noisey. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
- ^ Steiner, Robert. "Review: On Snail Mail's 'Lush,' adolescent angst from an old soul". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
- ^ Club, The A. V. (8 June 2018). "Lykke Li, Zeal & Ardor, and more albums to know about this week". Music.
- ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s". pastemagazine.com. October 7, 2019.
- ^ "The 100 Best Albums Of The 2010s". November 4, 2019.
- ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. 8 October 2019.
- ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2018 – Page 5". Pitchfork. 10 December 2018.
- ^ Brittany Spanos; Rob Sheffield; Will Hermes; Maura Johnston; Suzy Exposito; Simon Vozick-Levinson; Elias Leight; Charles Holmes; Mosi Reeves; Jonathan Bernstein; Christian Hoard; Jon Dolan (December 14, 2018). "50 Best Songs of 2018". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Snapes, Laura (December 3, 2018). "The top 100 songs of 2018". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ Lipshutz, Jason. "Billboard's 50 Best Albums of 2018: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
- ^ Hughes, Kayleigh (3 December 2018). "Top 50 Albums of 2018". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ Suskind, Alex. "The 20 best albums of 2018". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ Pinnock, Tom (22 November 2018). "Best Albums of 2018". Fopp. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ "NBHAP's 50 Best Albums Of 2018". NBHAP (in German). 5 December 2018.
- ^ Katzif, Mike (4 December 2018). "The 50 Best Albums of 2018". NPR. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ O'Neill, Lauren (5 December 2018). "The 100 Best Albums of 2018". Noisey. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ Desler, Madison (14 November 2018). "The 50 Best Albums of 2018". Paste. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ Greene, Jayson (11 December 2018). "The 50 Best Albums of 2018". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
- ^ "The Skinny's Top 50 Albums of 2018". The Skinny. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
- ^ Tully Claymore, Gabriela (4 December 2018). "The 50 Best Albums Of 2018". Stereogum. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ Gilke, Chloe (3 December 2018). "The 50 Best Albums Of 2018". UPROXX. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ Lush (liner notes). Snail Mail. Matador. 2018. OLE-1179-1.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ "Heatseekers Albums Chart". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- ^ "Independent Albums Chart". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- ^ "Alternative Albums Chart". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- ^ "Top Album Sales Chart". Billboard. 4 December 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
- ^ "Top Rock Albums Chart". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- ^ "Tastemaker Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2020.