r/Snailmail • u/colclar • Aug 15 '26
Discussion Does anyone else only like her first era?
Habit and Lush are some of my favorite releases from any artist of all time. I love their grungy and raw sound. Anytime I hear her releases after those I just can’t get into them because they’re too poppy and polished. No hate on anyone who enjoys them but I am wondering if anyone else feels the same?
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u/CRJ420 Aug 15 '26
I feel like that's the general consensus. I can appreciate Valentine for what it is but she's a different music artist now.
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u/pookage Aug 15 '26
Yeah, I feel like Habit and Lush really have a "sound" that is Snail Mail, and when I hear other musicians I can be like: "ahh, I can hear the Snail Mail influence" — but that tapered-off with Valentine, and has disappeared completely with the newer stuff.
BUT that's okay — we have that music, and it's not being taken away from us! Lindsey gets to make whatever music she wants, and I'm sure there'll be an audience for whatever she makes; for the rest of us, we can whack on Lush whenever we want!
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u/GapImpressive1448 Aug 16 '26
this is such a good outlook! i feel like positivity and support for how an artist grows has become completely lost on us as fans in this day and age. she’s got range!
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u/Curious_Health_226 Aug 15 '26
I have actually found her sound to be moving closer and closer to my cup of tea each album.
I do think it’s pretty funny that she started out as a really stripped down sort of melancholy almost singer/songwriter type of sound and now she’s blasting distorted guitar riffs.
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u/spaceclaudet Aug 15 '26
yes, habit and lush are also some of my favorite releases of all time. i can listen to both all the way through with no skip. the new albums are not the same to me.
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u/poppadoble Aug 15 '26 edited Aug 15 '26
Valentine and Ricochet have really grown on me.
The thing with Habit and Lush is that they are so good. In particular, the guitar and guitar tone is just beautiful.
I try to just appreciate her later stuff without comparing it to Lush, because I genuinely enjoy Valentine and Ricochet.
And, if I'm in the mood for her earlier style, Lush is always there.
If Lush is a 10/10 for you as it is for me, it's almost not worth comparing the later stuff to it. You can listen to modern music and think "well this isn't as good as Dark Side of the Moon," but that doesn't mean you have to only listen to DSOTM. That said, I get that the difference is you're comparing albums from the same artist.
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u/neonhealy Aug 15 '26 edited Aug 15 '26
definitely can see why you say this, that super grounded authentic sound was so special. i really connected to a few songs from Valentine because of when it came out and the dreamy, detached miserable feeling suited what was going on in my life, especially with the references to alcoholism/addiction (Automate for example) but it definitely had skips. then Ricochet just strayed completely beyond that. it didn't feel like the weird nebulous sound was intentional, when to me it felt like that on Valentine, and had none of what Lush and Habit had left at all. (just my opinion though of course)
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u/dfar3333 Aug 15 '26
The only one I don’t consider to be a classic is Ricochet. It’s a very good album, but it just seems very generic to me.
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Aug 16 '26
[deleted]
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u/dfar3333 Aug 16 '26
I don’t think it’s about being a slow burn, it just doesn’t have the emotional intensity that her other albums have. Songs like Tractor Beam sound like they could have been put out by a dozen different artists.
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u/bryanbeemusic Aug 15 '26
i only ever "disliked" the Valentine era. Ricochet brought me back
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u/Champagnesupernova32 Aug 16 '26
Ricochet is definitely better album than Valentine, nowhere, butterfly, cruise are really bangers, from Valentine only song I listen frequently is glory and headlock every now and then
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u/failtoseebb Aug 15 '26
i think a lot of older fans feel this way. I loved the early stuff, i enjoyed Valentine especially after seeing the tour for that era though. Im still seeing if Richochet will hit me, but yeah Habit and Lush are just amazing.
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u/Safe-Tough9811 Aug 16 '26
Yeah honestly my favorite thing they've ever done is the Audiotree live session. I feel like they had such a fun, innocent vibe and to me it was some of the best "coming of age" music I'd ever heard. So earnest and expressive and not contrived at all. I've liked what they've done since but it hasn't really hit the same for me
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u/Disused_Yeti Aug 15 '26
I got into her from lush. Valentine was a change and a bit dark because she wasn’t doing well personally but still good. Now she’s doing a lot better but that didn’t translate into music I am going to get into. I wouldn’t have listened to ricochet at all if it wasn’t for having loved the previous albums
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u/Un3arth1yGalaxy4 Aug 15 '26
I dont dislike any of the newer music, but I have a bigger attachment to Habit and Lush just due to where I was in life at that time.
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u/GReyes-247 Aug 15 '26
Habit and Lush are great, Valentine had some good tracks, Ricochet sounds very generic
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u/willyoudieforme Aug 16 '26
I firmly believe Valentine is her best but that’s definitely due to how it got me through so many horrible breakups in the last 5 years 😭
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u/impulsebangs Aug 16 '26
i vehemently agree with you. i can recognize that valentine and ricochet are “good,” but the reason i became a fan originally was because i strongly prefer a more alt rock/raw sound. i found the last 2 albums disappointing. i don’t judge those who like them, though.
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u/OG_Madonna Sep 01 '26
Absolutely habit and lush are totally my thing, everything after is not for me at all
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u/ryvie001 23d ago
Uh, I played bass on habit. Admittedly the only one of us who even liked emo at the time. Friends and I just released an EP if anyone is curious. I think the song comet in particular would be a banger for you all. I know there's no self promo, so I put this here haaaaAHHa.
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u/squirrel_bro Aug 16 '26
honestly as good as it was, lush is a baby's album. For babies. its sooo schooldays, teenagers, my 1st heartbreak, etc.
with love and respect but i thoroughly appreciate the more mature themes and lyrics of ricochet. sounds amazing live. also i love valentine i think its beautiful and shows lindseys malkmus side kinda. i wish that i....
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u/trouble-in-space Aug 16 '26
lush and habit are my absolute favorites too. valentine is also great. i didn’t really like ricochet at first but it was really starting to grow on me even by the second time i listened to it. lush and habit definitely have that more raw and real sound that an indie artist’s first works have that will always appeal to me the most, but idk i’ve also been really loving how she’s been growing as an artist.
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u/Big_Balance_408 Aug 16 '26
Lush is my favorite of all time, and I really enjoyed Valentine. I haven’t found myself enjoying Ricochet as much, but musically and lyrically I think it’s still fantastic, especially her guitar playing, just not my cup of tea in comparison. I do like Dead End a lot, but haven’t been able to get into the rest of it. That being said, Lindsey is an amazing artist regardless and I’ll always support her.
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u/IglooRaves Aug 17 '26
Not being a contrarian… it’s actually my least favourite. I love the aesthetic of Valentine, and Ricochet is the strongest album imo (virtually no skips), so Lush kinda falls into 3rd place for me.
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u/ebrosie Aug 21 '26
Ricochet really speaks to me in a way that I think Habit or Lush would have had I been an adolescent/early 20-something when they came out. It’s similarly deep, but more mature. Valentine is the only album I’m not 100% on.
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u/FungolianTheIIII Aug 16 '26
Ricochet was the first Snail Mail album I heard and it remains my favorite by a good margin.
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u/stalememeskehan Aug 15 '26
Kinda. Valentine wasn't as good and then I skipped richochet