Blondshell (Sabrina Teitelbaum) has released her third album, Violins, an epic evolution of the artist’s alt-rock explorations of violence, friendship, religion, her body, and healing. “This record’s heavy in a way,” Teitelbaum says. “It’s gotten a little bit less literal... There’s more imagery. But my main goal with this record was to have songs that hit hard. I wanted big lead lines.” Working alongside longtime producer Yves Rothman, Blondshell has crafted just that - a tidal wave of hard-hitting songs that feel both necessary and empowering right now. We spoke to Blondshell about making the record, and what’s next:

How are you feeling now that your album is out?

Dude, so stoked. It's crazy when you put an album out, and there's all this work that goes into getting it ready, and then it finally comes out, and it's crazy.

Was there a catalyst or a moment where you felt that inspiration hit and you really started to realise that an album was coming together?

Yeah. I had been writing songs for the record for a while, but I didn't realize that it was going to be a project. I just thought they were songs. And then when I wrote Violins, which ended up being the title track, that was what sort of pulled it together for me, and I was like, is is an album now, because it felt like such a kind of concrete idea, what that song is about. Yeah, that was my moment for sure.

I love that the album starts with that song. I'm so particular about how albums start and which song the artists choose to start an album with, and I think that's such a brilliant way to start. Is the track list a big deal for you? Do you put a lot of time and thought into it?

I do, which is crazy, because I don't listen to other people's albums that way. I should. But I don't. Like, when I know an album really well, then I'll listen to it in order, and I'll be like, "Oh, great. I can just put this on" while I'm doing something and listen to it top-down. But if I don't know an album and I'm trying to get into something, I'll skip around to try to find songs that are like good entry points for me. So it's weird because it's a little bit about the artist when you're making the track listing because I don't know how much other people are focused on it. I'm detail-oriented. The amount of time between each song, not just the track list, but how many seconds of dead air do you have at the end or the beginning or whatever. That stuff really matters to me.

Oh, that's cool. I've never heard anyone say that.

Yeah. That's something we do in mastering. So it's the very last step, but that's definitely something that my producer and I talk about. We'll be like, 'Oh, this should be a second longer. This should be half a second shorter'.

Tell me about the producer you worked with on this project and how they've helped to shape your world.

We've been working together on every record that I've made, and even before that. So we've been working together since 2019. And there's a lot of trust. There's a lot of understanding and sort of mutual taste in things that we care about in the studio. So I've learned a lot. I've learned a lot in terms of just practical knowledge about being in the studio, and production, and sounds, and what works with my voice, what kind of mic I should use, and all that stuff.

What did you learn about yourself through the making of this album?

A lot. I feel like every time I make music I learn a lot about myself, because the whole point of making songs for me, personally, is to better understand confusing feelings I have. So I feel like every time I write a song, I learn more about how I feel about that person, or that thing, or whatever it is. Then I think through the process of recording it, which is very different than the process of writing it, I think I learn a lot about what I'm capable of. I learn about what I like and I don't like. I know that I like being in the studio. That's easier for me. It's more natural for me than being on tour, which I think is why I've put out so much music in such a short amount of time.

Is there a song you're most proud of?

I was most proud of Violins, and that's why that was the single for when we announced it, and that's why it was the first song and all that. But I think it changes. There's a song called Sea Legs that I really like.

Are there other artists that you've been listening to that are rising up, or anyone you want toshout out that you're excited about right now?

Yes. There's a couple of new artists. First of all, the Gurriers record came out the same day as mine. They're sick. I hadn't heard of them until this record, and then everything on my phone was just like, Gurriers. There's an artist that I found yesterday that I had never heard of, somebody showed me, called Portraits of Tracy. I don't really know a lot about them. I just know the record rocks. Rennie Conte, too, we have a lot of mutual friends. I feel every time I have friends in LA who are coming from out of town and they're recording, they're like, "Oh, I have a session with this guy." So I've just heard his name so much. And then I listened to the music for the first time this week, and it's awesome. You didn't think I'd have so many, but I came prepared. There's one more, her name is Brennan Wedl. They just put out a record that is really fantastic, and their voice sounds like Lucinda Williams.

Amazing. What's next? Are you touring? What's happening for the rest of the year?

Touring big time. I'm starting in Europe, and I'm going to tour there in December. Then coming back to the States and touring here in March. Then probably gonna play a lot of festivals in the summer. And hopefully come to Australia.

Listen to Blondshell HERE.

@blondshell