Review Summary: 'Lush' lives up to its name boasting a simplistic array of colorful textures and down-to-earth storytelling.
If I were to tell you a 19 year old released an indie rock album, you’d probably laugh. Chances are it’s another millennial coffeehouse rocker who just learned their basic chords. They’re probably tripping over their amp cables as they write angsty songs about politics and society. Looking at the previous landscape of young artists, I wouldn’t disregard those criticisms. Hayley Williams, Lorde, and Amy Lee started their careers in their late teens and became embellished in the same stereotype. Little life experience and the pressure of releasing albums every so often don’t make for the best material. That’s where Snail Mail works their magic. Indulged in a youthful outlook, the simplistic indie texture of
Lush lives up to its name.
Lush takes you back to that post-high school/pre-college standpoint of stepping up to the plate. Partying, drinking, and friends lost their luster. Now is the time to cash your reality check and see the world for what it is. What better eyes to see this through than Snail Mail?
Lush is an easygoing indie rocker with simple production. Nothing life changing goes on. Just your basic layered guitars, bass, and drums. There’s a French horn solo in ‘Deep Sea,’ one of the albums more experimental songs.
Lush’s simplicity isn’t a bad thing in the context of the record. It has a charm to it and focuses on the group’s core sound. It almost reminds me of an Elliott Smith album where it’s barebones in a way. Think
Figure 8 or
XO but with a modern sound. Regardless, the music of
Lush is astounding. ‘Let’s Find an Out,’ one of my personal favorites, is a guitar-focused track with a picked rhythm and smooth vocal performance. “Let's find an out/We'll start anew,” Lindsey sings as the guitar washes in the background. ‘Pristine’ is more of a standard indie single. It boasts a lo-fi melodramatic tone with a strong vocal performance. It’s got a bright layered riff, grooving bass, and slow drums that back up, “Is there any better feeling than coming clean?” ‘Heat Wave’ is more of a rocker and has a nice crunchy lead between verses. I noticed it shares a similar structure to ‘Lazy Eye.’ “I'm feeling low/I'm not into sometimes,” ends ‘Heat Wave’ on a climactic note.
I enjoyed
Lush a lot more than I thought I did. It’s an easy listening 10 song debut album. It doesn’t overstay its welcome or promote any pretentious elements. There aren’t any problems I found with it. It’s not an eye-catching debut, but that doesn’t work against
Lush. It settles into a niche of its own. It’s sarcastic, melodramatic, and simplistic to its own right. It’s not trying to be anything other than itself. I’d highly recommend
Lush nonetheless and it’ll have its place on my end of year list. Unlike the previous reviewer (shout out to FreddieDelaney31) I didn’t have that same emotional connection. This isn’t a negative to
Lush. Music hits everyone differently and I’m glad Freddie found that element with their music. It goes to show how much they’ve grown since their EP. Otherwise, I think it’s for the best readers slither on over to
Lush while it’s hot. Grab some coffee, snuggle into some flannel, and groove to some indie rock.
Standout Tracks
Let’s Find an Out
Heat Wave
Pristine
[It’s all pretty good]
