If You Asked For A Picture... You Better Like What You See

Alt-rocker Blondshell expands on richly textured soundscapes and explores introspective songwriting on her sophomore album.

If You Asked For A Picture album cover, photo courtesy Partisan Records.

I first came across Blondshell in the Spring of 2023 while searching for new artists to play on the radio, and immediately, I was enraptured by her sultry vocals and razor-sharp lyricism. Fronted by Sabrina Teitelbaum, Blondshell is the singer-songwriter’s fiery, alternative rock project. Blondshell debuted in 2022, following a brief foray into pop music under the pseudonym BAUM from 2017 to 2020. Blondshell’s sophomore album, If You Asked For A Picture, released May 2nd via Partisan Records, expands on the grungy alternative rock sound established in her self-titled debut, while dialing back on the accusatory tone in Blondshell for a more introspective lens in If You Asked For A Picture.

Through her collection of twelve richly textured songs that sound as if they come straight from a ‘90s alt-rocker’s grunge fantasy, Teitelbaum paints a portrait of the angst-filled rollercoaster of life in your 20s, perhaps picking up the pen where she left it when she completed her self-titled debut. But, if Blondshell’s discography is to be viewed as a novel, it is important to note If You Asked For A Picture is not a continuous sequel. In the years since Blondshell’s release, the novel’s narrator has matured, opting to turn the lens inward and interrogate her own shortcomings and self-destructive nature, rather than blame the cast of characters around her as before.

Paired with this new introspective lens is an exploration of a softer and quieter side of Blondshell. While her self-titled debut opens to the squeal of guitars, blame, and angst on “Veronica Mars,” If You Asked For A Picture’s album opener “Thumbtack” begins with an acoustic guitar and the admission that perhaps Teitelbaum is part of the problem. Similarly, the single “Two Times,” a heartfelt ballad about loving exactly the wrong type of person yet coming back for them again and again, she soulfully croons “How bad does it have to hurt to count? / Does it have to hurt at all? / I’ll come back if you put me down two times,” over an acoustic guitar and a piano. While Blondshell is no stranger to utilizing acoustic instrumentations, the album marks a new endeavor to establish a gentler side to the alternative rock project.

Fans of Blondshell’s classic, blazing sound and her searing lyricism in the self-titled debut album will be glad to know the album features no shortage of its own blaring guitars and razor-sharp barbs. Early in the album, on “Arms,” Teitelbaum sings “I don’t wanna be your mom / But you’re not strong enough… No, you know you do it to yourself.” Later in the album, on “Toy”, she sings “Somebody needs to get f**ked to get a toy.” On the single “T&A”, aptly named for the time a lover told Teitelbaum they only loved her for her tits and ass, she smoothly asks “Why don’t the good ones love me?” over the familiar sound of blaring guitars.

Though the album owes much of its success to the countless ‘90s alt-rockers that came before it, If You Asked For A Picture is not without sonic variety. The album’s fourth single, “23’s A Baby,” stands apart as a uniquely pop-leaning song about the struggles of finding yourself in your early twenties, featuring ‘60s-style, Ronettes-esque backing vocals. This style of backing vocal also makes an appearance on the fiery “Toy,” as Teitelbaum sings of the pitfalls of being the object of someone else’s desire. “23’s A Baby” also tackles Teitelbaum’s difficult relationship with her mother, who died in 2018. On the track, she sings “23’s a baby / Why’d you have a baby?” The burden of her relationship with her mother is also explored in the lead single “What’s Fair?” where the memories become sharp, and the track “Event of a Fire,” which serves as Teitelbaum’s self-proclaimed “heart of the record.”

By the time If You Asked For A Picture winds to a conclusion, it’s almost as if Teitelbaum has taken the listener on a show-and-tell tour of select diary entries to show the listener how she arrived at the emotional moment she’s in now, without giving away too many of the details. Though the subject matter of the record is heavy, the production remains light and energetic, suggesting she has managed to turn the negativity surrounding her into something positive. Through this sonic tour of ‘90s gunge-filled nostalgia, Teitelbaum trades accusations for steadfast honesty: tackling everything from the trials and tribulations of love to familial drama and questions of identity. Teitelbaum is laying it all bare, and her sound has never been bigger, bolder, and braver. Better yet, she doesn’t care what you think about it. If you asked for a picture… you better like what you see.

Blondshell’s sophomore album If You Asked For A Picture was released May 2nd via Partisan Records. Blondshell is currently embarking on their headline world tour, If You Asked for a Tour…, and is playing a sold-out show at Chicago’s Metro June 13th.