ALBUM REVIEW: Blondshell – Blondshell

The debut eponymous album from Blondshell offers a compelling journey through nine tracks of self-discovery and reflection sprinkled with humour and memorable lyricism to provide one of the most promising debuts of 2023.

25-year-old Sabrina Teitelbaum has enjoyed a diverse musical upbringing. Growing up in a classic rock-obsessed household in various Midtown Manhattan apartments, her childhood love was the Rolling Stones. Primarily raised by her single dad, she found piano and guitar as a means of processing the various instabilities in her life stating, “Performing and writing ended up being the only place where I could get any feelings out”. Through high school discoveries of indie-rock bands, her various teen interests developed a love of lyrics, describing the lyrical work of The National as having, “informed a lot of the way I write.”

Moving across the country to attend music school in Los Angeles, Teitelbaum enrolled in USC’s pop programme. The yearning for pop stylings of Lorde and Lana Del Rey ruled, yet after two years she dropped out, choosing instead to study classical and jazz theory. Having found herself in studios writing pop songs, she quickly realised that she did not belong within the realms of radio-friendly pop music.

Rather than writing with the expectation of chart success, Teitelbaum found comfort in creating songs for herself, with no intention of releasing them. Having managed to get sober in early 2020, she experienced a “rush of really intense emotions”. Upon hearing a selection of songs, producer Yves Rothman encouraged writing an album, offering the reassuring praise, “This is you”. The exploration of the array of feelings that the Los Angeles-based singer experienced over the last few years defines Blondshell, with themes from dating and relationships to social anxieties with friendships explored on the album.

The rock influences immediately shine across on opener ‘Veronica Mars’, a punchy, driving guitar riff builds until the conclusion of the song throws up a swirling solo. Inspired by the television series of the same name, there is a reference to the character Logan, portrayed through Teitelbaum’s penchant for witty lyricism, “Logan’s a dick, I’m learning that’s hot”. Elsewhere, there is a nod to her love of the Rolling Stones with pleading cries of “Gimme shelter”.

‘Kiss City’ takes another turn, opening with relaxed piano chords before the song expands its soundscape through the chorus while exploring the perils of dating through a pandemic and searching for a meaningful connection. After which, ‘Olympus’ showcases a softer vocal performance looking back at the ending of a relationship.

Across the album, there is a wealth of memorable lines. On ‘Sepsis’ a song about Teitelbaum’s desire to seek validation from men, she pokes fun, “I’m going back to him, I know my therapist’s pissed, we both know he’s a dick, at least it’s the obvious kind”. The acoustic-heavy, Britpop-influenced ‘Joiner’ hears Teitelbaum assert, “I think you watched way too much HBO growing up”, despite the song having been written, “to feel like you’re watching HBO”.

The Nirvana-inspired ‘Tarmac’ sees Teitelbaum, in her own words, “talking about a rollercoaster of emotions, where everything’s fine one second and then it blows up and then it’s fine again.” This is reflected musically, with the song bouncing between periods of quiet subtlety to explosions of raw power, and back again.

Closing on a contemplative, empowering tone, ‘Dangerous’ is heavily inspired by social anxiety. Several irrational fears that were experienced post-lockdown are examined, with Teitelbaum proudly yet cautiously stating “I’m trying new things out”, to end the album on a reassuringly optimistic note.

Blondshell’s debut effort is a triumph of fearless, assured songwriting. Capturing a variety of moods and sounds, the album flows from track to track managing to captivate at each turn. Vulnerability is countered with defiance while various emotions are explored through lyrical self-examination, consolidated with honesty, wit and, at times, self-deprecating humour. Through nine spellbinding tracks, Sabrina Teitelbaum, under her Blondshell guise, has created one of the most promising debut albums of the year.