INTERVIEW: Snail Mail

Lindsey Jordan, who performs under the name Snail Mail,  recently announced that her first full-length album will be out on Matador Records on June 8. WTBU DJ Paul Stokes got a preview of what’s to come when he sat down with Jordan at the Great Scott before her show with Lomelda this past January.

Paul Stokes: I know that you started playing music from a really young age and that it’s always been a part of your life. I’ve heard you say that when you started playing music, you were doing it at least partially out of a desire to prove yourself to other people, but now that you’re successfully touring and you’re garnering a lot of attention with your new music, how have your motivations changed and what drives you to improve?

Lindsey Jordan: It’s almost like the complete opposite; I have no sense of how people feel about [my music] because I just don’t read anything online or check my Twitter mentions or anything. I sort of put myself in a bubble because I have no opinion on anything other than making music that I personally enjoy. I just really care about making music that I would listen to, that’s the only motivating force.

PS: Related to that, you’re coming off a debut EP; have there been any challenges in transitioning stylistically, compositionally, or emotionally from that to a new full-length project?

LJ: Yeah, definitely; I care a lot more. I mean the EP I made for fun, and I wasn’t really even intending to play the songs live, but now that there’s a platform and the resources to make something with more time and thought put into it, I’ve put more time and thought into it. [laughs] I definitely care a lot more about the composition, which has made things harder, because I’ve been more critical of myself. And while I think the record reflects it, and I think the songs are substantially better, it made it a lot harder to write the record under the circumstances. I took my time more, I cared more, and I really looked at my influences and what I think makes a good record, and just tried to do that.

PS: Aside from the context of the EP release, do you see your own aging and coming out of high school and finishing all that stuff contributing to change or having an effect on your writing or your aspirations for your writing?

LJ: Yeah, definitely. I listen to completely different music than I did when I wrote Habit and I feel like a completely different person than I was when I was writing it. I feel like I’ve changed a lot emotionally, had more experiences, and developed as a person. I care about different things in music now, I think the lyrics are more mature, I think the music itself is more mature, I think it’s just been a natural incline…I forget what the question is. [laughs]

PS: Well if you think that it has been a natural incline, or you think you’re in a totally different place, how do you relate to that older material now?

LJ: It definitely feels like I’m looking back at something I wrote, and not necessarily feeling the same things, even though when I wrote it I thought I would feel like that forever. I sort of have to conjure those moments on stage because I do remember exactly how I felt when I was writing those songs, I just don’t feel anything like I did then. It’s really very dramatic and sad. I really feel different, even from the record that’s about to come out; it’s just always changing.

PS: That’s probably a good thing right?

LJ: Yeah I would hope I don’t feel the same way I felt when I was 15.

PS: Talking about the EP specifically, a lot of the instrumentals, and particularly the guitar, stood out to me, in that they felt unique to me without feeling overly obtuse, or they felt unique while still being able fit within the confines of the genre – indie, rock, whatever you want to call it – so is there an effort on your end to try and set yourself apart or do you not think about it?

LJ: I can comfortably say I’ve never thought about it while writing. The only thing as far as trying to distinguish myself in my songwriting goes, is that when I’m writing melody, if it sounds like another melody I already know or that I can immediately recognize, I’ll stop writing the song, because I want it to sound completely new. People say to listen to your influences and build off that, but I prefer to work from ground zero and build something new, because whenever I try to work off of my influences I get kind of bored. The only way I can say I’ve tried to sound like my influences is in the studio, referencing different drum sounds or guitar tones, but with writing I try to isolate myself from the things I like the most.

PS: On the other side of that, I think lyrically a lot of songs like “Dirt” or especially “Static Buzz” the writing really blends direct narrative with more sort of impressionistic imagery. So, what inspires you lyrically, and what motivated you to start writing songs from such a young age, and how do you think that affects your style?

LJ: Well, I think my main goal with the EP was just to document exactly how I felt at a given point in time. It’s written how I think I would write a diary. It’s written to express how I felt in the most extreme, dramatic way possible, and it really comes across that way, and it’s really intense. I think everything I felt at the time was intense, but I think it’s changed a lot since then. I think of it more like poetry now, more than a diary entry… I forget the question again! [laughs]

PS: So you would say you’ve moved on or that you’re changing?

LJ: A little. I’m not a totally different artist, but having had more experiences and having more to say, I think my ideas have developed, but also how I represent my ideas has changed. As far as the other part of your question goes, when I was younger I was never interested in songwriting or playing music professionally; I just played guitar to be good at it, and I took it real seriously, but I never intended on doing any writing. I wasn’t interested in it. I guess I started writing at like 11 or 12 as an outlet, and eventually it became more of a hobby than an outlet.

PS: So you came up in the local scene in Maryland; how do you think that local scene affected you as a musician, or helped you achieve the success you have found, and what advice would you give to other local musicians trying to navigate their way to a similar place?

LJ: It’s hard to say, because a lot of successful bands don’t come out of the DIY scene, and I don’t have much of an idea of what that’s like. I think growing up and doing it for yourself helps you figure out what’s wrong, what’s right, how to do it, how much you should get paid, how much you should pay people; it helps you develop a set of ethics and ideas so that once you start working with business people, you don’t get taken advantage of. And that’s not to say that there aren’t awesome people in the music industry, but if you do things for yourself starting out, you have a better idea in the future of whether or not you’re being taken advantage of. I guess my advice to people in those local scenes is just to make music that you’re proud of and that you care about, and everything else will follow. And if it doesn’t, it’s not that big of a deal. Just make music that you like, that’s what matters, everything else is dumb.

PS: Speaking of business people, I know you guys were recently signed to Matador and that you’ll be touring soon with Ought and Japanese Breakfast, who are both amazing, so with all that in mind, what do you see as the future of the band?

LJ: I’m really excited just to have the record out. I spent a lot of time, and put in a lot emotional energy and just every resource I have in my body [into the record] and I feel like it’s been a long time coming. We haven’t released anything in a really long time, and I’m just excited for people to hear it. I’m excited for our shows with Belle and Sebastian too. We have a lot of great shows coming up; I’m excited to play and I’m excited for people to hear the songs!