On April 7 Blondshell (aka Sabrina Teitelbaum) will release her highly anticipated self-titled debut album via Partisan Records. Today she gives listeners a special treat by way of her take of The Cranberries’ deep cut “Disappointment” – a fan favorite that she played all last month on her sold-out tour with Suki Waterhouse. It’s a non-album track, yet a powerful display of this artist-to-watch’s eye-popping vocal range & use of loud/soft dynamics. 

Of the track, Blondshell says, “I wanted to sing a song off of No Need To Argue, which is one of my favorite albums ever. Dolores’ voice carries so much emotion throughout the entire album, not just on the big hits like ‘Zombie,’ but on the more understated songs as well. ‘Disappointment’ hits me so hard because it feels like heartbreak disguised as apathy. I wanted to sing the song how I heard it, with the intensity of the pain behind those airy, relaxed vocals and drums.”

In the past few years, the 25-year-old Teitelbaum has transformed into a songwriter without fear. The loud-quiet excavations that comprise the hook-filled Blondshell don’t only stare traumas in the eye, they tear them at the root and shake them, bringing precise detail to colossal feelings. They’re clear-eyed statements of and about digging your way towards confidence, self-possession, and relief.

That bracing honesty charges every note of Blondshell. With the world at a screeching halt, she recommitted to guitar and revisited the galvanic 90s alt-rock of Nirvana and Hole, absorbing their simmers and explosions, the crests and contours that made their abrasive version of pop so potent. Immersing herself into books, too—particularly the writing of Patti Smith, Rebecca Solnit, Rachel Cusk, and Clare Sestanovich—she found patience and permission.

For all its complicated, soul-baring subject matter—processing post-lockdown social anxiety, her relationships with men as well as with women—Blondshell is a comfort, and its songs often contain the perfectly-calibrated humor and levity we need to survive. “There were a lot of things that I was running away from—mainly loneliness, self-esteem stuff,” Teitelbaum says.

It all left her yearning to make the kind of music that has helped her feel empowered herself—and the way there was in telling the truth. “I always want to make people feel like they have more power and control and peace because I know what it feels like to want that for myself. I know how music has helped me get there,” she says. “What I’ve realized I need to do is write realistically, and try to not bring shame into the writing. Each song gave me more confidence. I hope the songs help people in that way, too.”

Photo Courtesy: Daniel Topete