PAPER's first listen of Blondshell'sIf You Asked For A Picture is during a listening session in a Chelsea Hotel room. In the small space, in between bites of cheese and sips of wine, Sabrina Teitelbaum's second studio album starts to take shape. Her track "T&A" plays on vinyl — its distorted guitar opening and her echoing vocals pour out evenly around the lyrics, "Why don't the good one's love me?" According to Teitelbaum, she wanted to write something "romantic and sexualized" with the song and somehow hit both those marks. "I think there’s a misleading dichotomy between romantic and sexual songs," she tells PAPER. "In real life those feelings don’t have to exist in the absence of one another. I wanted all of the songs on the album to feel realistic and representative of in-between spaces."
A record player seems a fitting format for Teitelbaum's latest, which is set for release on May 2 via Partisan Records. As the album ends, with zero skip-over moments in earshot, the small crowd asks for her to play it again to confirm what we heard the first time — a vulnerable, often funny, always honest record delivered in melodic, pop-leaning indie rock.
Below, Teitelbaum talks If You Asked For A Picture and how she tried "really hard" not to hide the "magnitude" of feelings she transmutes into the album.
You released your debut, self-titled in spring of 2023. Was it at all daunting to go back into the studio for your second release? Were you excited or nervous about meeting expectations?
I tried not to bring expectations into the writing and recording process. It’s impossible for them not be there at all, but I wanted to focus on the songs. I wrote so much when I was on tour, and mostly, my feelings throughout the process were like, "Yay, I get to make these songs real now” and “Do I like how this sounds?”
Let’s chat “What’s Fair.” It became a sneak peek of the album as the first single. Was there a particular reason you wanted that track to mark the beginning of this sophomore album era?
“What’s Fair” was the first song that was done on the album and I felt like I didn’t want there to be huge gap where I wasn’t putting music out. I like to put songs out as soon as I can and it felt like a good transition between first and second album subject matter.
You mentioned the Rolling Stones' track “Little T&A” being a bit of the inspiration for "T&A" and also wanting to write something “romantic and sexualized." What was it that made you want to create something that hit both those marks?
I think there’s a misleading dichotomy between romantic and sexual songs. In real life those feelings don’t have to exist in the absence of one another. I wanted all of the songs on the album to feel realistic and representative of in-between spaces.
In comparing your upcoming album If You Asked For A Picture to your debut, you said the previous was more black and white and this album has more “questions.” Why do you think that is? Is this a moment in your life where you’re particularly inquisitive?
Part of it has to do with the process. I had about five days to record the last album and double the time to record this album. I was also just more confident in this process since it wasn’t my first time, so I felt more comfy with nuance.
You have a wide range of sonic references in the album — and you talked about how it was enjoyable to play with sonics typically saved for men. Why was that process enjoyable for you?
I think being the only woman in a studio space can make me want to lean on what I perceive as masculine sounds and textures. Obviously that’s so subjective, but it can just be an instinct for me to want to lean into my own masculinity as well. It came out on the record in a bunch of ways.
I got to hear the album at The Chelsea Hotel and I recall the lyrics being really fun but also super vulnerable. Are you nervous to share that snapshot of yourself and that part of yourself with the world?No, I sort of think that’s the whole point. I’m not someone who would really tell you about my deepest feelings in a face-to-face convo, so it’s nice for me to be able to tell you through the songs. It makes me happy to be seen in a deeper way through the music.
What do you hope people feel when they hear If You Asked For A Picture – what emotion or message do you hope they walk away with?
Sometimes, I feel tempted to water down how painful or beautiful everyday life can be. It can be shameful to show the magnitude of my feelings without having some bigger event to justify them. I tried really hard to not hide those feelings. Hopefully if you listen to the album you can take some comfort in that. And hopefully the music itself just makes you feel good.
Photography: Daniel Topete
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