Despite the unbearable heat emanating from the big yellow orb in the sky, Londoners were treated to some exceptional live music this past week. I was lucky to spend a balmy Thursday evening in the beautifully air-conditioned Electric Ballroom in Camden, where staff were handing out cups of water keeping the steadily gathering crowd hydrated and cool for the first out of two night residency of Snail Mail, Lindsey Jordan’s solo project serving sun-kissed, grungy guitar music.
I have to confess, Snail Mail have been on my radar for years – through Matador Records, they are label-mates with one of my all time favourites Julien Baker – but for some reason I never saw them live. All of Snail Mail’s ‘for fans of’ list some of my favourite musicians, so I knew I would have a great time.
This tour promotes Snail Mail’s third LP Ricochet, a record that tackles themes that feel more grown up than the coming of age of her debut Lush, with religious iconography providing metaphors to explain Jordan’s anxieties with – like on my personal favourite track from Ricochet – ‘My Maker’, which I got to hear live early on in the set, and the grunge and dream pop infused guitar sound and slacker cadence Snail Mail is known for made it sound breezy. Later in the set Jordan introduced her favourite track from the new album – ‘Reverie’, a scathing critique of nepotism that seems to be rife in the creative industries.
The set weaved between new material and fan favourites from Lush and Valentine – with ‘Heat Wave’ feeling particularly apt – and the dedicated fans would recognise all the tracks from the first cord. “Did you guys know this place had AC?! Is that why you’re here?” Jordan asked from the stage, but it was clear that night was about more than AC (although it helped). The vibes were simply immaculate – a woman came up to me just to tell me she loved my hair, and I spotted her later dancing with a person she struck a conversation with – and when I say dancing, I mean full on ballroom twirling at the back of the balcony during the titular ‘Ricochet’, which Jordan performed as a duet with only her cellist. Truly a magical moment.
Opening for Snail Mail was West Londoner Unflirt, the musical alter ego of Christine Senorin. Her sound blends dreamy bedroom pop with introspection of shoegaze. Live, she sounds like rays of sunshine kissing your skin – this might be due to the fact that her most recent EP Fleeting was written between London and the coast of Brazil while she travelled to visit her partner. The front row was full of dedicated fans who sang along to every word and when she announced ‘Crush’, her very first song, it was welcomed with thunderous applause.
