Blondshell at New Century

“An alt-rock star is born,” declared The Guardian, as the 90’s-inspired, loud-quiet anthems of Sabrina Teitelbaum’s 2023 debut album tore traumas out at the root and held them up to the light. Part therapy session, part coming-of-age catharsis, it was a self-examining – yet infectiously fun – record that earned the New Yorker critical acclaim and a fast-growing fanbase.

She returns with If You Asked For A Picture, her second album and the catalyst for a huge run of headline shows – many of which have already been upgraded to bigger venues due to demand. It’s a record shaped by life on the road, the grey areas that come with growing older, and the discomfort (and power) of not having all the answers.

Among her production touchstones were unexpected curveballs like Queens of the Stone Age’s Rated R and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Californication. Teitelbaum revelled in appropriating those hyper-masculine aesthetics for her uncompromising examinations of young womanhood, playing with performances of gender in rock. “It’s empowering for me to use sonic references that feel reserved for men,” she explains.

Lyrically, Teitelbaum leans into uncertainty – sketching out messy relationships, bad habits and existential dread with the same dry humour and sharp detail that made her debut so infectious. From the brooding weight of ‘Thumbtack’ to the spiky, self-aware swagger of ‘T&A’, these songs embrace contradiction: vulnerable yet brazen, bruised but defiant.

Musically, those same contradictions ripple through the record. Teitelbaum stays rooted in ’90s alt-rock – lo-fi strums, dreamy harmonies, sudden squalls of distortion – but this time there’s a broader, more confident palette at play. Tracks unravel and shapeshift: what starts as a quiet sigh often dissolves into noise, haze or a hook you didn’t see coming. At times, the record feels sun-bleached and weightless, at others, it’s pinned down by fuzzed-up guitars and sharp lyrical barbs delivered with deadpan precision.

Since Blondshell’s debut, she’s toured relentlessly – clocking up over 150 shows, including major festivals, a tour with Liz Phair, and her own sold-out headline dates. Swapping YES basement for New Century, she returns to Manchester armed not only with her most self-assured songs to date, but with the live firepower to match.