Sabrina Teitelbaum will release her latest album under the Blondshell moniker, If You Asked for a Picture, on May 2 via Partisan Records. Teaming up once again with producer Yves Rothman, who handled the boards on her 2023 self-titled debut, she allows there new album to inhabit her own experiences, creating a sort of sonic autobiography. The record borrows its title from Mary Oliver’s 1986 poem, “DogFish” — which itself is an examination of how best to tell your own story, what to keep close and what to offer to the world.
“There’s a part of the poem that says: ‘I don’t need to tell you everything I’ve been through. It’s just another story of somebody trying to survive,’” Teitelbaum says. “Something I love about songs is that you’re showing a snapshot of a person or a relationship, and showing a glimpse into a story can be just as important as trying to capture the entire thing. Sometimes it’s even truer to the entire picture than if you tried to write everything down.”
Her latest single, “T&A”, details the tragic circumstances of a troubled relationship, affection breaking down and communication riddled with silence and recrimination. It’s a surging anthem stacked with bristling guitars, romping percussion, and the insight of person who knows what needs to be done but can’t help but witness the continual dissolution of love as it falls apart in their arms.
“There’s a Rolling Stones song on Tattoo You called ‘Little T&A’ and at one point in the song, he says ‘tits and ass,’ so I’m borrowing that,” reveals Teitelbaum. “I think in music, it’s easy to see things as either more sexualized or more romantic, and I wanted this to be both. I see it as a love story— maybe not the most fairy tale love story— but I wanted it to feel like a really narrative song, where one thing leads to another and then you end up somewhere you didn’t expect. Normally that’s not how I write, but I wanted a song like that.“
Directed by Hannah Bon, the video for “T&A” features three rescue dogs (Luna, Rooster, and Radar) paired off with male counterparts. The clip is a play on the “men are dogs” trope, with aspects of vulnerability and misplaced braggadocio explored through this canine narrative.
Watch below.
If You Asked for a Picture is due out May 2 via Partisan. You can pre-order the album here. Follow Blondshell on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
