It’s been five years since Lindsey Jorden last released music as Snail Mail and her third studio album, Ricochet, makes that time feel transformative. Moving beyond the sharp edges of heartbreak, the 26-year-old singer-songwriter leans into a more mature, existential sound. This album is a huge step forward in lyricism and instrumentals, altered not only by growth, but by vocal node surgery that subtly reshaped her voice. Across the album, Jordan wrestled with love, isolation, and the uncertainty of what comes next.
One of the most alluring aspects of Ricochet is Jordan’s ability to frame heavy themes within upbeat, almost hopeful sounding tracks. The album opens with, “Tractor Beam,” driven by a bright, catchy guitar line that gives it the feel of a charming indie anthem. Beneath this polished exterior, the song explores the theme of lost time through dissociation – an idea that Jordan has linked in interviews, to Gregg Araki’s Mysterious Skin, which similarly uses an alien abduction as a metaphor.
The album additionally explores more universal concerns, especially the tension between curiosity and anxiety surrounding death, as well as self-destructive impulses. On the second track, “My Maker,” Jordan draws from her Catholic background and sings, “Another year gone by/ What if nothing matters? / Waiting round to die/ To see what happens after,” while in the track “Hell,” strips down her curiosity, with her bluntly admitting she’s “scared to die.” That same unease begins to bleed into other parts of the record, particularly its focus on isolation. In “Agony Freak,” Jordan leans into a desire to wallow in emotional pain, embracing self-imposed distance as both a comfort and a trap.
Jordan’s lyricism excels at drawing listeners into her recurring theme of escapism. On “Nowhere,” she longs for a “junction of sleeping and being in limbo,” imagining a space removed from the pressures of reality. That desire carries into the dreamy final track, Reverie, where she leans into a more romanticized form of escape, singing, “If loved is all we’ll ever be/ Then we’ll bask in our reverie.” The depth of her lyrics gives these songs a quiet pull, where even the softest of moments feel a little untethered from reality.
The production of this record is vastly different from her past albums as Snail Mail; the spontaneous features of her
previous work have been traded for a more polished and confident sound, while her voice itself escapes the raspy, angst-filled delivery it once carried. However, this allowed her vocal range to soar – her confidence is heard within the layers of guitars, drums, and string ensembles.
Though the themes of Ricochet oppose Snail Mail’s previous teenaged angst, Jordan’s step forward as an artist feels natural. This album is a beautiful portrayal of maturity and growth, deserving a rating of 4/5 stars. Linsdey Jordan has found a stronger version of her voice and a deeper confidence in exploring the uncertainty that defines it.
