Valentine, Pam

If I'm not mistaken, I believe Valentine is the second LP released by Snail Mail. Based solely on Apple Music's description of Valentine, the first album, Lush, seems to have been well-received in the indie rock community. I haven't personally listened to Lush, but I understand the weight of its success putting Snail Mail's Lindsey Jordan in the tough position of coming up with another well-liked album. For that reason, though, I really have nothing to compare Valentine to in terms of maturity or growth as an artist. What I can say is that I've listened to the title track quite a few times now, and it's poised to make it to the top of my list of favorite songs of 2021... a true honor indeed, I know. The song itself is heartbreaking and at the same time features guitar riffs that somehow capture the feeling of some of the music I listened to towards the end of high school, giving it that nostalgic familiarity that just puts a smile on my face.

As far as the rest of Valentine, Jordan has put forth an album that seems to be heavily influenced or least unknowingly linked to literary romanticism. Can this be confirmed by any Record Club contributors who also happen to be English teachers (looking at you, Melissa)? In most of the songs, she includes lyrics alluding to the toxicity of the relationship with her former flame, and also that she just can't seem to move past it. Perhaps these themes are most evident in "Forever (Sailing)," in which Jordan asks "Doesn't obsession just become me?", and "Madonna" when she describes her desire to "consecrate my life to kneeling at your altar," and additionally depicts their love as "a sickness, baby."

I once read a truly chilling story of a man in Key West in the 1930s who, upon the death and burial of his young bride, dug up, amateurishly embalmed, and kept her in his home. And although I would still use the word morbid to describe it, some would argue in favor of his "passion that defied death" (found in the book description on one site) and the romanticism of it all. The title alone, Undying Love (and not "Undying Crime?"), even seems to create a defense for it. Although Valentine doesn't come close to the extreme events depicted in Undying Love, I do think it might border it. Not only does Valentine illustrate Jordan's idealization and worship, but she also writes about ruining herself for conditional love.

To circle back to the title track on Valentine, aside from being the most musically upbeat, I think another reason it's my favorite is because it honestly feels like one of the only times on the album where Jordan not only questions, but gets angry, maybe rightfully, about the whole ordeal. If you don't wish to feel sick in love then you don't deserve to feel that way. That being said, I do get the feeling that not only her former partner, but also the feeling of being "sick in love," is what is being glorified here.

I do appreciate that Valentine comes from Jordan working through something and it helped to create music and imagery that I really enjoyed. And without having listened to Lush, I think I'd say that Valentine lives up to the hype of Snail Mail. I also really love the artwork for the album. The pink suit really captures the entire essence of Valentine.

Side note—one of the times Valentine came across my newsfeed was due to the "yassification" trend. Did anyone else see this? I have no idea if this is good or bad or how Lindsey Jordan felt about it. I don't even know anything else about this trend.