Advertisement
On her 2018 debut albumLush, seventeen-year-old Lindsey Jordan sang “I’m in full
control / I’m not lost / Even when it’s love / Even when it’s not”. Her natural
ability to be many things at once resonated with a lot of people. The
contradiction of confidence and vulnerability, power and delicacy, had the
impact of a wrecking ball when put to tape. It was an impressive and unequivocal
career-making moment for Jordan.
OnValentine, her sophomore album out November 5th on Matador, Lindsey solidifies
and defines this trajectory in a blaze of glory. In 10 songs, written over
2019-2020 by Jordan alone, we are taken on an adrenalizing odyssey of genuine
originality in an era in which "indie" music has been reduced to gentle,
homogenous pop composed mostly by ghost writers. Made with careful precision,
Valentineshows an artist who has chosen to take her time. The reference points
are broad and psychically stirring, while the lyrics build masterfully on the
foundation set by Jordan’s first record to deliver a deeper understanding of
heartbreak.
On “Ben Franklin”, the second single of the album, Jordan sings “Moved on, but
nothing feels true / Sometimes I hate her just for not being you / Post rehab
I’ve been feeling so small / I miss your attention, I wish I could call”. It’s
here that she mourns a lost love, conceding the true nature of a fleeting
romantic tie-up and ultimately, referencing a stay in a recovery facility in
Arizona. This 45-day interlude followed issues stemming from a young life
colliding with sudden fame and success. Since she was not allowed to bring her
instruments or recording equipment, Jordan began tabulating the new album
arrangements on paper solely out of memory and imagination. It was after this
choice to take radical action thatValentinereally took its unique shape.
Jordan took her newfound sense of clarity and calm to Durham, North Carolina,
along with the bones of a new album. Here she worked with Brad Cook (Bon Iver,
Waxahatchee). For all the album’s vastness and gravity, it was in this small
home studio that Jordan and Cook chipped away over the winter of early 2021 at
co-producing a dynamic collection of genre-melding new songs, finishing it
triumphantly in the spring. They were assisted by longtime bandmates Ray Brown
and Alex Bass, as well as engineer Alex Farrar, with a live string section added
later at Spacebomb Studios in Richmond.
Leaning more heavily into samples and synthesizers, the album hinges on a
handful of remarkably untraditional pop songs. The first few seconds of opener
and title track ‘Valentine’ see whispered voice and eerie sci-fi synth erupt
into a stadium-sized, endorphin-rush of a chorus that is an overwhelming
statement of intent. “Ben Franklin”, “Forever (Sailing)” and “Madonna” take
imaginative routes to the highest peaks of catchiness. Jordan has always sung
with a depth of intensity and conviction, and the climactic pop moments on
Valentineare delivered with such a tenet and a darkness and a beauty that’s
noisy and guttural, taking on the singularity that usually comes from a veteran
artist.
As captivating as the synth-driven songs are, it’s the more delicate moments
like “Light Blue”, “c.et. al.” and “Mia” that distill the albums range and
depth. “Baby blue, I’m so behind / Can’t make sense of the faces in and out of
my life / Whirling above our daily routines / Both buried in problems, baby,
honestly” Jordan sings on “c. et. al.” with a devastating certainty. These more
ethereal, dextrously finger-picked folk songs peppered in throughout the album
are nuanced in their vocal delivery and confident in their intricate
arrangement. They come in like a breath of air, a moment to let the mind wander,
but quickly drown the listener in their melodic alchemy and lyrical punch.
The album is rounded out radiantly by guitar-driven rock songs like “Automate”,
“Glory” and “Headlock”. Reminiscent ofLushbut with a marked tonal shift, Jordan
again shows her prowess as a guitar player with chorus-y leads and rhythmic,
wall-of-sound riffs. “Headlock” highlights this pivot with high-pitched
dissonance and celestially affected lead parts – “Can’t go out I’m tethered to /
Another world where we’re together / Are you lost in it too?”, she sings with
grit and fatigue, building so poignantly on her sturdy foundation of out-and-out
melancholy. OnValentine, we are taken 100 miles deeper into the world Jordan
created withLush, led through passageways and around dark corners, landing
somewhere we never dreamed existed.
Today, in the wake of recordingValentine, Jordan is focused on trying to
continue healing without slowing down. The album comes in the midst of so much
growth, in the fertile soil of a harrowing bottom-out. On the heels of
life-altering success, a painful breakup and 6 weeks in treatment, Jordan
appears vibrant and sharp. “Mia, don’t cry / I love you forever / But I gotta
grow up now / No I can’t keep holding onto you anymore” she sings on the album
closer “Mia”. She sings softly but her voice cuts through like a hacksaw. The
song is lamenting a lost love, saying a somber goodbye, and it closes the door
on a bitter cold season for Jordan. Leaving room for a long and storied path,
Valentineis somehow a jolt and a lovebuzz all at once.
- Katie Crutchfield
Advertisement
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
46 North Orange Avenue Orlando FL 32801, Orlando, United States
Tickets