Blondshell Gets Introspective on Sophomore Album ‘If You Asked For A Picture’

Blondshell, stage moniker for L.A. alternative rock artist Sabrina Teitelbaum, is haunted by angsty memories and turbulent relationships past in new album If You Asked For A Picture. Mary Oliver’s 1986 poem ‘Dogfish’ is the eponym for the sophomore record, which comes two years after the release of Blondshell (2023). As the grungy guitars riffs are toned down this time around, the singer’s vocals and lyrics are brought to the forefront to create a more vulnerable narrative than in her self-titled debut.

In ‘T&A’, Blondshell navigates the difficulties of balancing relationships with sobriety, and how experiences with addiction can inform one’s approach to intimacy. The wilful echo of ‘Why don’t the good ones love me? Watching him fall, watching him go right in front of me,” and the nostalgic drum beat transport the listener into the songwriter’s trapped mindset. The songwriter addresses her relationship with body image in ‘What’s Fair’, using direct, jarring lyricism against a fun rock arrangement. This is followed by a child’s desperate pleads in ‘Two Times’, as a younger Teitelbaum, full of anguish, confronts her relationship with her father and repeatedly asks “How bad does it have to hurt to count?”. Producer Yves Rothman layers building vocals in ‘Event of a Fire’, and ‘Change’, reflecting prior traumas that have followed the artist from childhood to present as she declares “Part of me is still getting all her haircuts for someone else”. Both sonically and emotionally dynamic tracks drawing on influential nineties bands The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Pixies, Blondshell works to infiltrate male-dominated soundscapes.

The memorable track ‘23’s A Baby’ picks up the pace, Blondshell uses an upbeat tune to address a parent, resentful that they can move on with their lives whilst she is left to deal with their mess. The vocal runs throughout the back half of the song culminate to an incendiary outro. In the song ‘Toy’, dynamic shifts reflect the singer’s struggles with OCD as she grapples with staying in control and the power dynamics within her relationship. Album highlight ‘He Wants Me’ is a moody examination of sexuality full of tension that builds to a cathartic connection, whilst evading the territory of cringe. As Blondshell flexes her lower register, a raw and earnest moment emerges from the disorientated narrative that pervades much of the album.

An intriguing and deeply reflective exploration of feeling disconnected from those closest to us due to the workings of one’s own mind, If You Asked For A Picture boasts impressive arrangements and has some moments of clarity, however lacks overall direction and feels unresolved. As she works through her experiences, it seems the artist feels as lost at the conclusion of the album as she does at its start, chorusing “I don’t know what I want anymore” on mellow closing track ‘Model Rockets’. Perhaps Blondshell was never searching for concrete answers, or maybe coming to accept feeling incomplete is the answer – that will be up to listeners to decide upon.

Words by Shreya Mehta