Blondshell - If You Asked For A Picture

In the two years since releasing her self-titled Blondshell debut, Sabrina Teitelbaum has not just broken out from the underground, but propelled herself to repeated (and lauded) late night television appearances, landed in both the US and UK Top 100, and sold out shows across the globe - both as headliner and supporting the likes of acclaimed superstar Liz Phair. Her sophomore release, ‘If You Asked For A Picture’, goes some way in showcasing the vast increase in confidence these experiences and accolades have afforded her, forging an album filled with candid takes on relationships, family, and emotional turbulence wherein Sabrina highlights her comfort with existing in the grey.

That uncertainty unfolds in theme alone, but never in sound. Whereas her debut leaned heavily on grungy alt-rock, ‘If You Asked For A Picture’ ups the ante of each guitar-led, infectious, melancholic melody - never downtrodden, but certainly never happy. “How bad does it have to hurt to count?” she ponders on the stunning pre-release single ‘Two Times’, questioning the preconceived nuances of love and finding solace in the lost middle ground. Similarly, ‘He Wants Me’ explores happiness not as a simple duality (“I think I lost my centre / But it’s just in my body”), but as a multi-angled phenomenon, carefully considering what it is and just where we look to find it. It’s an album that’s far less direct than her debut, and more thoughtful.