Biography
Lindsey Jordan first surfaced in 2016 fronting Snail Mail with an EP whose raw, candidly inward lo-fi rock textures carried into her 2018 breakthrough debut album, Lush. On the Brad Cook–produced follow-up, Valentine, she integrated samples, synthesizers, and strings that simultaneously smoothed and roughened the surfaces.
Raised in suburban Baltimore, Maryland, Jordan began playing guitar at age five and later studied with Mary Timony of Helium and Ex Hex. By her mid-teens she had already formed ties in the Baltimore and D.C. music communities; in 2016, at 16, she issued her debut EP, Habit, on Priests-run Sister Polygon Records. The sessions, recorded and produced by Priests’ G.L. Jaguar and Jason Sauvage of Sneaks, featured Jordan on vocals and guitar, Ryan Viera on bass, and Shawn Durham on drums. An NPR Tiny Desk concert and an Audiotree Live EP appeared in 2017, as did tours with Waxahatchee, Girlpool, and Beach Fossils; before year’s end Snail Mail signed with Matador.
Snail Mail’s first full-length, Lush, arrived in June 2018, recorded with producer Jake Aron, who had engineered albums for Solange and Grizzly Bear. Jordan’s personal lyrics and dreamy guitar lines were supported by touring bandmates Alex Bass on bass and Ray Brown on drums. That same month the trio opened New England dates for Belle and Sebastian. Lush later appeared on Billboard’s independent, alternative, and rock charts, reaching number two on the Heatseekers Albums chart.
Jordan’s sudden fame, a breakup, and time away from music shaped Snail Mail’s second album, Valentine. Written in 2019 and 2020, it was tracked with Bass, Brown, and producer Brad Cook of Bon Iver and Waxahatchee, who added synths, a string section, and other expansions. Released on Matador in November 2021, Valentine did not coincide with its namesake month.
Raised in suburban Baltimore, Maryland, Jordan began playing guitar at age five and later studied with Mary Timony of Helium and Ex Hex. By her mid-teens she had already formed ties in the Baltimore and D.C. music communities; in 2016, at 16, she issued her debut EP, Habit, on Priests-run Sister Polygon Records. The sessions, recorded and produced by Priests’ G.L. Jaguar and Jason Sauvage of Sneaks, featured Jordan on vocals and guitar, Ryan Viera on bass, and Shawn Durham on drums. An NPR Tiny Desk concert and an Audiotree Live EP appeared in 2017, as did tours with Waxahatchee, Girlpool, and Beach Fossils; before year’s end Snail Mail signed with Matador.
Snail Mail’s first full-length, Lush, arrived in June 2018, recorded with producer Jake Aron, who had engineered albums for Solange and Grizzly Bear. Jordan’s personal lyrics and dreamy guitar lines were supported by touring bandmates Alex Bass on bass and Ray Brown on drums. That same month the trio opened New England dates for Belle and Sebastian. Lush later appeared on Billboard’s independent, alternative, and rock charts, reaching number two on the Heatseekers Albums chart.
Jordan’s sudden fame, a breakup, and time away from music shaped Snail Mail’s second album, Valentine. Written in 2019 and 2020, it was tracked with Bass, Brown, and producer Brad Cook of Bon Iver and Waxahatchee, who added synths, a string section, and other expansions. Released on Matador in November 2021, Valentine did not coincide with its namesake month.
Albums
Singles
