REVIEW: Snail Mail, Why Bonnie @ the Sinclair 12/01
By Ioanna Karageorge
Boston loves Lindsey Jordan and Lindsey Jordan loves Boston. Her band, Snail Mail, came to play Cambridge’s the Sinclair on Dec. 1 for two sold-out, back-to-back shows.
Snail Mail, established in 2015, is just in the beginning of their career and have already achieved momentous success. Rising from origins in the Maryland DIY scene, Lindsey Jordan has moved on from playing house shows to now performing internationally to sold out audiences. The question looming seems to be: So, how did she do it? This was answered for me after attending her recent Boston concert.
Austin-based indie rock, bedroom pop outfit Why Bonnie took the stage first to warm up the crowd. Their saccharine songs were reminiscent of the sounds of bands like Alvvays and Chastity Belt, making you want to dance and reminisce at the same time.
Once Jordan and her band came on stage, the audience started to buzz as they anticipated her set to start. She gave a few opening remarks about how Boston is a special place to her and that it was “really great to be in the home of Dunkin’ Donuts!” which was followed by a good laugh from the crowd. She then started to get to business, opening with the track “Slug” from her first EP Habit. We got to watch her transform from casually joking around to serious musicianship, a demonstration of her niche charm. Flexibly dipping from ironic commentary to intensely reflective songs allowed for moments of relief that displayed an honest, human quality, which appears to be a theme in her music project.
The show started to pick up when she played “Heat Wave” from her debut studio album Lush. The song starts off slow and contemplative, like the sticky summer day that the title evokes. Jordan drawled to the crowd memories of confusion and unrest—and then the kick drums came in and she broke away from the microphone to start shredding. As the tempo increased, there was this sense of excitement that started to build, the anticipation of catharsis. It successfully came during the chorus, erupting with rumbling layered guitar, driving percussion, and shouted wishes. My favorite part of this song came at the end, however. The accompaniment became stripped down and Jordan echoes “I’m not into sometimes,” a concise sentiment for such a complicated feeling. Snail Mail excels at being able to communicate feelings of disappointment or angst without making her songs come off whiny.
Halfway through the show Jordan stopped to pick out the two concert-goers standing next to me. She spotted them from the stage and remembered them from the previous night’s show. Jordan asked their names (shoutout Snail Mail fans Charlotte and Nick!) and in their reply, they shouted back that they would be attending the later show and the next day’s show. This is the kind of loyalty that Snail Mail’s music draws in and that’s the kind of musician she is, one that pays attention to her audience.
She ended the night with heartbreaking Lush album closer “Anytime.” Her band left the stage, and Jordan played alone with a green electric-acoustic guitar. Center stage she sung, illuminated by two spotlight beams outlining her against the dark background. In the song, Jordan professes how she wants a lover to move on, but know that she will always be there. After baring these raw emotions, Jordan thanked the audience and said goodnight. She still had another show to go perform that evening, and an entire North American tour to attend, and I’m sure each show will feel just as intimate and affirming as the one she created that night.
