Snail Mail – Valentine (Gold Vinyl)

Snail Mail – VALENTINE (GOLD VINYL) is the sophomore LP from Lindsey Jordan, released November 5th 2021 on Matador Records, and it arrives on gold vinyl as a pressing that collector demand was always going to outpace supply for. Jordan’s debut, Lush, set an unusually high bar. Called “truly perfect” by The FADER and landing in Pitchfork’s top five albums of 2018, it established her as one of the most serious songwriters to emerge from that record cycle. Valentine had a lot to answer for, and it does.

About Snail Mail – VALENTINE (GOLD VINYL)

Three years separated Lush from Valentine, and the distance shows in the writing. This is a record with more space in it, more confidence, and a willingness to let arrangements breathe where the debut leaned closer to the bone. The ten tracks here, running from the title opener through to closer “MIA”, build a cohesive arc that rewards full-album listening. “Ben Franklin”, “Headlock”, and “Light Blue” sit in the earlier stretch and set the emotional register early. “Madonna”, “Glory”, and “Automate” carry the record’s second half with a different kind of weight. Jordan isn’t restless for the sake of it. The sequencing feels considered.

Pressing Details and Format

This is the gold vinyl edition, pressed at LP format on Matador Records under catalog number OLELPE 1785. Matador has a consistent track record with colored variants on their key releases, and gold is a strong visual pairing with this particular record’s aesthetic. The catalog number places it firmly within Matador’s standard run of the album rather than a later repress, which matters if you’re keeping a clean collection of first-edition colored pressings. No additional pressing notes are listed, so condition and availability speak for themselves at this point.

Why This Copy Belongs in Your Collection

Colored vinyl variants of breakout albums from artists at this level tend to circulate less and less as time goes on. Jordan built a dedicated and growing audience between 2018 and 2021, and Valentine was one of the more closely watched releases of that fall season. The gold pressing specifically attracts buyers who want the album represented on something other than black wax, and that pool of buyers is not getting smaller. If Lush is already in your collection and you’ve been sleeping on the follow-up in a format that does it justice, this is the copy to correct that. Matador. Gold vinyl. Catalog OLELPE 1785. Straightforward.

Tracklist

1. VALENTINE
2. BEN FRANKLIN
3. HEADLOCK
4. LIGHT BLUE
5. FOREVER (SAILING)
6. MADONNA
7. C. ET AL.
8. GLORY
9. AUTOMATE
10. MIA