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Lindsey Jordanmade her name as a songwriter.
Or are you still not sure what that means?
Jordan toured heavily aroundLush, playing nearly 200 shows in 2018 and 19.
During that period off the road, Jordan went through a breakup andspent 45 days in rebab.
I needed to hit pause.
I was not in any kind of shape to continue doing Snail Mail stuff.
)On the second single offValentine, she sings, Post-rehab, Ive been feeling so small.
IfLushproved Jordan was something of a prodigious singer-songwriter,Valentineconfirms her as the complete artistic package.
She outlined some of those influences onValentine, from Paramore and Bon Iver to her disgusting taste in film.
Inability to tour
It fucked me up.
I never expected to take a break for as long as I did during the pandemic.
I literally cant think of writing something in a hurry.
We wouldve reached a point where we couldnt have just kept touring the old songs.
That was what I wanted to do, cause just completely switching gears is so scary.
Like, not having another option.
People are usually able to write on the road, so it seems, and I just cant.
I need full privacy to make it come up with lyrics, or I have so far.
The concept of writing really scares me.
So I was just like,How long can we push this off?
I was putting things together, but it wasnt cohesive; I wasnt working toward something larger.
But once they started coming, it was like a waterfall.
Those things started making themselves, almost.
After Laughterby Paramore
Any inspiration from that, sonically, was probably innate.
I didnt actually reference it in the studio.
It seems like they took a long time and worked really hard on it.
I dont know what it is about that album.
I just feel really close to it.
We were listening to so much music but not really trying to sound like anything.
Bradworked on the Bon Iver stuff thats one of my favorite artists of all time.
We had a lot of conversations about that, like, What guitar was used on Holocene?
God, I wish I could just talk about Bon Iver.
I have never let go of how important that dudes music is and continues to be.
It has always seemed like the gold standard of songwriting to me.
Ive only recently become a hip-hop listener, like within the past three or four years, basically.
My entry point was Drake, and I still am a weirdly big fan?
I have Drake vinyls in my apartment like, more than one.
Im trying to think of what me and Brad have in common in that world.
Obvious stuff like Kendrick Lamar.
We both have an affinity for Top 40.
It maybe just got so difficult, listening to it so much, every day, for my job.
I think when emos get in the room together, its just innate.
Even with, Paramore I think it all starts coming up.
Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee
Its crazy, Ive learned everything that I need to know from her.
My booking agent and manager are my booking agent and manager cause theyre her booking agent and manager.
In the music industry in every industry people are fucking gross.
I was asking her about everything.
They took us on tour, and I think we were pretty poorly behaved.
I dont know if that did much for our friendship.
All kinds of nonsense, like letting all of our friends into the green room and being really awful.
And then somehow, along the way, me and Katie just got really close, like blood close.
I dont know how to explain it.
We started talking on the phone all the time.
Shes just a really good, wise advice giver.
She sings on Ben Franklin.
Shes singing that really high, falsetto harmony in the chorus.
And then it makes the song.
She has a voice like an angel; it took, like, an hour.
I definitely think that comes through.
Its melodramatic in a way thats kind of terrifying.
I was really rolling in it.
Raymond Carver,What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.
Those were all really big ones.
I pay really close attention when a phrase makes me feel anything.
Her voice changing
My voicegot deeper, which was a surprise.
I feel like a little boy or something.
I dont know where that came from.
Its huskier and deeper in my 20s.
But I didnt know how to deal with it.
Maybe, I dont know.
But also, I was just thinking about how it felt natural.
Being a disgusting film bro
Its kind of my secret identity.
I just love movies that you wouldnt want to tell a girl that you like.
I wouldnt wanna be like, Weve gotta watchSalotogether, baby!
But I love those unbearable types of movies so much!
I know how that looks.
I knowhow we feel about him, but the lighting is really captivating for me.
Angst and spoiled-brat energy was the vibe.
I brought that to Josh Coll, who directed both videos, and we workshopped that.
I love working on the music videos; Ill never go back to not being part of that process.
Co-producing her own album
When I worked onLush, I was so overwhelmed.
I just wanted someone else to take the reins all the time.
My instincts are really different than Jake Arons, who producedLush.
So I was just following my heart and surprising myself.
I feel like my way of doing things is ultimately always just grand.
I dont want to just throw money at the song.
The song needs to be good before you get going adding bells and whistles.
2, of course, is gonna sound more expensive.
But is it gonna be good?
Knowing when to stop editing is an intuitive feeling.
And everything fits where it belongs.
Everything sits where it sits for a reason.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
