Sabrina Mae Teitelbaum also known in the music industry as Blondshsell has taken the music world by storm since she released her debut album in 2023. Teitelbaum’s interest in music dates back to her childhood, when she began writing songs and singing at seven. In high school, she performed at talent shows and open mic nights at clubs in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. She was a member of many bands during her teenage years, including one with her classmate Blue DeTiger, a singer and guitarist based in NYC. After graduating, Teitelbaum moved to Los Angeles to attend USC Thornton School of Music, majoring in songwriting in the school’s Pop Music program. She would later drop out in her sophomore year to pursue her musical career.
Teitelbaum has been releasing music onto streaming platforms as early as 2014. However, she didn’t start producing music in a serious capacity until leaving Thorton. She would publish three singles under the name of BAUM in 2017, she found minor success fairly quickly. In 2018 she made her first festival appearance at South by Southwest, her music would also be highlighted on Spotify’s Out Now and Young & Free playlists. BAUM would remain inactive for most of the following year, due to personal turmoil from her mother’s death, a breakup, and a split from her manager, her return was marked in May of 2019 with the release of her single “Fuckboy”, which was the lead track to her EP titled Curve slotted released that fall.
In 2020, Teitelbaum began to distance herself from BAUM, never really connecting with the name and the music. This shift would stop her from releasing Curve and transition into working on new music during COVID-19 which would become the base of her self-titled album released in 2023. The name Blondshell came from Teitelbaum and her sister who came up with the name during a random night at dinner. She debuted tracks “Olympus” and “Kiss City”, both of which received heavy praise from music critics and papers alike. Teitelbaum would later release two more singles from the record titled “Veronica Mars” and “Sepsis”. She toured as a supporting act with Suki Waterhouse and Liz Phair in 2023. The same year, Blondshell, the self-titled album was released. Teitelbaum’s talent would lead her to be featured on lists such as “Top 15 Artists To Watch In 2023”, and former president Barack Obama included Blondshell’s hit “Joiner” on his favorite music of 2023 list.
Blondshell ( 2023 ):
Spanning a short thirty-two minutes, with only nine tracks, the record seems like one that could be an easy listen; however, this album will haunt you, mentally and emotionally for months to come. Blondshell’s music is the definition of feminine rage. Anger is embedded into every verse and lyric. The album goes through music styles and vibes as one does clothing. A large part of her inspiration for her songs comes from classic rock, which was influenced by Teitelbaum’s father, who took her to concerts growing up. This influence, combined with Teitelbaum’s love of mainstream pop icons such as Adele and indie rock acts, creates a unique listen that will live inside your brain for months. The album takes heavy inspiration from Hole’s album Live Through This, and other artists such as PJ Harvey, Patti Smith, Mitski, and The Cure. Her ability to switch from bluey-jazz in “Olympus” to full-on grunge-pop in “Sepsis”. Teitelbaum’s album hits deep. She’s unafraid to be vulgar and to be unapologetically a woman. She deals with topics such as toxic relationships, substance abuse, addiction, and queerness. Teitelbaum struggled with substance abuse for part of her adult life, deciding to pursue sobriety in 2019, which is largely what inspired the album.
Sepsis:
“Sepsis” highlights toxic relationships, and how hard it can be to get out of them emotionally. Her use of vulgar and sexual language hits this song at the end in a way that improves it. The title comes from the medical condition of sepsis, which is a serious infection. Teitelbaum is comparing this toxic relationship to a horrible case of sepsis, leading to amputation. In the song, the narrator has conflicting feelings, she knows that the relationship is unhealthy for her, but the other part of her brain tries to rationalize the mistreatment. The scream towards the end of the song is almost like the two sides of her brain crashing together in some kind of war.
Joiner:
In her music, it seems like Teitelbaum is obsessed with the idea of reality. The idea of fantasy and reality swooping in hard to crush it, like getting woken up by your mom in the climax of an amazing dream. The beginning of this track is so warm, that it almost contradicts the type of topics that Teitelbaum talks about in “Joiner”. Her music in particular, especially “Joiner” makes you angry in a cathartic way, to draw anger from a song and to be able to feel it so deeply makes the record hit even harder than it should. “Joiner” has a hit of humor in its lyrics, take the verse “Think you watched way too much HBO growing up” or Teitelbaum’s mimic of a puking noise will make you smirk through the listen.
Tarmac:
The slow beginning of “Tarmac” might trick you into thinking that the song will be a smooth and easy listen, however, the minute the drums and bass guitar pickup, it will make you see red, wanting to chuck some things around the room and yell at the universe. The lyrics in “Tarmac” alongside the instruments mix in a beautiful harmony. Teitelbaum’s music is an insight into her life like we are spectators through her music. “Tarmac” begins the final rageful song before the slow conclusion of the album with its ninth track “Dangerous”. The song almost feels like an anxiety attack put into music, we can feel Teitelbaum’s anxiety come through in the lyrics and instruments. Her ability to put physical feelings into her music gives her an edge over other new artists which helps her stand out from the crowd.
Having had the opportunity to see Blondshell perform live, I can confirm that she is not only a talented singer but an amazing performer, able to work the crowd with talent and passion. Blondshell’s passion for music has continued to grow since her self-titled debut album’s release. Her new record If You Asked For A Picture is set to release in May of 2025, with single “T&A” releasing early on January 9th.
