Blondshell gives Union Transfer her take on pop stardom

Philly venue Union Transfer holds, give or take, 1,200 people. It would be difficult, impossible even, for one person to hold a meaningful conversation with another in an audience even a tenth of that size. And yet, as the sold-out crowd filed out of the Callowhill venue on a steamy Saturday night, you got the sense that almost everyone managed to feel just that sort of rare connection. Such is the magic trick of Sabrina Mae Teitelbaum, the mind and voice behind LA-based band Blondshell.

A few years before this past Saturday, back before Blondshell rocked the River Stage at last year’s XPoNential Music Festival, and even before they were an XPN Artist To Watch, songwriter Sabrina Mae Teitelbaum hit the scene in the waning days of the pandemic with standout single “Olympus.” It was, and is, a perfect example of the line Blondshell is able to tightrope between slick pop and grungey, ‘90s-inspired alt-rock. Teitelbaum is a master of droll dissatisfaction, blended with some of the tightest hooks you’ll ever hear about scummy men; this, and her and unwavering self-confidence, was evident from the beginning, and has only gotten stronger over the past few years.

Blondshell’s latest record, If You Asked For A Picture, is, for my money, their best yet, and finds ever-new ways to expand upon their established sound. Perhaps the most endearing aspect of any Blondshell record, and performance, is Teitelbaum’s blunt, conversational tone, which finds a way to be invitingly direct without ever feeling didactic, preachy, or performative. She has called If You Asked For A Picture 99 percent autobiographical, a fact the become evident as she ran through some of its best songs, like the biting indictment of maternal decision-making “23’s A Baby,” the look at cyclical harm of “Thumbtack,” or the staunch refusal to play the savior in “Arms.” Teitelbaum is clearly not afraid to look at her life directly and, in turn, shout these truths back at an audience pleased to be met with such honesty.

And yet, even at her most vulnerable, Blondshell is as much about performance as biography, a performance which sees her embrace the role as pure showman, strutting across the stage in a bid to take over ownership 1026 Spring Garden Street. It’s here her pop leaning shine most bright, especially when she chose to highlight the latter half of her set with a cover of Addison Rae’s infectious hit “Diet Coke,” a decision that went over to much delight from the sold-out crowd. But this wasn’t Teitelbaum channeling pop stardom so much providing her own take on what that might look like. Seeing her egg-on an electrified audience to share in the depressing realities of rampant toxicity – culminating in a cathartic crescendo in which the audience and Teitelbaum shout “Sepsis!” at the top of their collective lungs – is not a sign of a performer on the brink, but one in full control of their powers. Like a stand-up comedian who knows exactly how to play the punch lines, Teitelbaum swaggered her way through her set, which seemed to leave the entirety of the sold-out crowd on the edge of their seat for whatever Blondshell throws at them next.