Blondshell - Blondshell

Indie Rock – April 7, 2023 – 9 songs, 32 mins

LUNDI

For the second time in as many weeks TSR are flipping back to the first half of 2023 to dig into a female fronted artist making waves in the rock industry. This time around it’s Sabrina Teitelbaum, better known as Blondshell, and her raucous self titled debut. 

Teitelbaum puts on a song writing clinic on Blondshell. Written like a veteran of her craft her debut is a collection of deeply real stories told with precision and ferocity. Paired with a 90’s Alt Rock backing band the record is very reminiscent of Liz Phair’s iconic Welcome to Guyville and Alanis Morisette’s punchy Jagged Little Pill. 

Deep rooted in life issues of domestic abuse (Salad), drug addiction (Sober Together), toxic relationships (Olympus, Sepsis) and self loathing (Dangerous), the crux Teiltelbaum faces across her life is how she spends many moments trying to save those around her when she’s the one who may need it most. It’s a direct penning of vulnerable thoughts that don’t sugar coat her pain. Her lack of faith in the world around her results in something very poetically beautiful. It just feels true, like a biopic of a young adult female. 

Sabrina’s vocal matches the emotive lyrics well with a powerful crackling delivery. She is the star of the show in all facets but is complimented well with harrowing drum lines and some excellent and timely guitar work, particularly on the song bridges. It’s interestingly hard to find who exactly her band is but an appropriate next step is to find musicians who can elevate her rather than simply support. 

The song structure on Blondshell is notably repetitive as it follows a verse-chorus-bridge outline for nearly every track. Combined with relatively straight forward arrangements the album composition could be seen as a red flag in the big musical picture, however, given it’s a debut record, in the end it more so portrays as a smart play to her strengths. You can easily lose a career with a failed debut, but this effort is strong enough musically that when combined with her elite writing she’ll have no trouble finding interest in a sophomore effort. If she’s doing exactly this three or five albums in this review would rightly need to be revisited but on album one it’s a strategic and smart decision by the young artist that absolutely nails the landing. 

Blondshell is a roaring debut from an uber talented singer-songwriter. There simply aren’t many musicians at their peak who can write with this much real and direct emotion. To do it on album one is downright incredible. 

Overall Rating: 8.4/10

Favourite Song: Salad

ROZ

This week's album comes from another act that the TSR crew managed to see during their expedition to Europe at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound music festival. This time, rather than catching the artist at a mid-day mainstage, the three of us were able to snatch up tickets to a smaller, intimate venue to see the show after the festival was over. Oh how good it was. Of course, in standard Too Sweet Reviews fashion, an artist's live performance and overall experience is well and good but the album review - the heart and soul of what we’ve created here - must go on, without the color or bias the experience attempts to bring into the fray. This week we take a look at LA based musician Blondshell and her debut titular album Blondshell.

Blondshell in and of itself is a purposeful distancing between Sabrina Teitelbaum and her previous project, BAUM. Before pivoting into the indie rock stylings of her current alias, Teittelbaum broke onto the music scene through the alt-pop genre - a sound that she never really felt portrayed the essence of where she saw herself in the realm of musicianship. Fast forward to 2023, where her debut album Blondshell displays the general timbres and arrangements that one would familiarize with the indie rock sound. Producer Yves Rothman doing a great job in crafting the vision for Teitelbaum to perform upon; a canvas much better suited to the artists heavier handed messages in her songwriting.

This statement leads me to what makes Blondshell so special - the performance. Throughout each record Teitelbaum’s voice reeks of apathy yet holds a pained quality at the same time, with the pain becoming more pronounced through each song as the artist explores thoughts of intimacy (Kiss City, Tarmac), the trials and tribulations of a toxic ex lover (Sepsis) and the living hell of substance use disorders (Olympus, Sober Together, Dangerous). It becomes more and more apparent with each listen as to why Teitelbaum chose to shed herself of her former name and sound - Blondshell without a doubt feels much more authentic to the person behind the artist's visage.

Blondshell is the personification of finding one's true self, finding one’s own unique frequency; a journey that many can relate to - not just simply in the musical sense. For her debut album, Teitelbaum knocks it out of the park. Her new sound is sure to resonate with people and her skills as a musician ensure that a long successful career is guaranteed.

Overall Rating: 8.1/10

Favourite Song: Olympus

REID

I promise I’ll stop talking about Primavera soon. Just not today.

As Camelphat’s Sunday set wrapped up and our collective TSR wish list was fulfilled, we snapped a selfie and reluctantly left the gates of Primavera Sound 2023 for the final time. Luckily Barcelona had one last treat. A more intimate evening at a small venue in the city called Razzmatazz. TSR favourite, Japanese Breakfast, headlined the show with Blondshell and Jockstrap rounding out the evening. The two lesser known acts had generated some buzz in the group chat with the former falling into the same category as last week’s review - on the radar with a new release. And just like Wednesday, the live performance cemented the decision to review her self-titled record.

Sabrina Teitelbaum is the woman behind the music. Born and raised in New York, she currently resides in LA. While she may have lost faith and ditched her previous effort as a pop star under the last four digits of her surname, BAUM, I think she really has something with Blondshell.

This record has two promising qualities for long term success. Number one is accessibility. She may have pulled the plug on her previous pop sound but it wasn’t totally abandoned as she brought those strengths to her new project. Blondshell may lean indie with its rock band feel but the pop influence is very much there, making it mainstream and radio-friendly. You won’t be blown away with creativity or intuition but you won’t skip many songs either.

The second is relatability. Blondshell’s subject matter centres around Sabrina’s life in her mid-twenties. Sex life and kinks (Kiss City), drugs and addiction (Sober Together) and the vulnerability of dating (Dangerous) are topics just about everyone can share a story on. My personal favourite is Joiner where she openly mocks and criticizes the lifestyle of others. But in an ironic twist, she reveals her curiosity and wants to try it out herself. Remind you of someone you know?

Blondshell is a simple, easy going sound just about anyone can throw on and enjoy. Coupled with well written, relatable lyrics, Sabrina has set a foundation for future success.

Overall Rating: 7.7/10

Favourite Song: Joiner