Break the record #9 : Blondshell

A long time favorite artist of mine, we're analyzing the work of Blondshell

My love for Blondshell started randomly. It came from a Spotify suggestion. Okay, I’ll admit, the Spotify AI algorithm knows me well. But the first song I heard was Kiss City with its ‘I think my kink is when you think I’m pretty’, a sultry love song that reminded me a lot of His Hands by Blegh, another favorite.

Blondshell is one of those small indie artists you can’t help but love and support. She makes hella good music with her guitar and some drums, and it feels even more confessional than anything Taylor Swift has ever released.

Today, we’re united in the name of our Lorde Blondshell, to review and analyse this album they’ve gifted us with in 2023, with a follow-up in 2025 that is growing on me every day.

Veronica Mars sounds like an early 00s high school romance movie soundtrack. This is the Blondshell version of So High School by Taylor. It has a bit more edge to it, ‘Logan’s a dick, I’m learning that’s hot,’ proving it’s not a romance story. It’s a charming song with an Olivia Rodrigo-sounding guitar solo that I absolutely love.

Kiss City is one of my favorite songs on the record. ‘Just look me in the eye when I’m about to finish’ might be one of the greatest lines ever written. It’s vulnerable, ‘it turns me on when you tell me you’re not going away’, and it might be the best wedding song. It’s got some edge with Blondshell screaming the lyrics by the end, an edge I’ve come to love and appreciate in its glory because damn, isn’t it cathartic?

Olympus isn’t one of my favorite songs on the record. I’ll be honest, it lacks the energy of the first two tracks, kinda lulling you to sleep. I know this song is deep, ‘I wanna save myself, you’re part of my addiction’. The whole is vivid and descriptive, and depressing, and it’s not a favorite because the rest of the record is on another level of GREATNESS, but the bridge is amazing. I’ll give it that.

Salad is my favorite song on the album. It’s about rape, it has a cool revenge narrative à la cool girl monologue, and I just know it would’ve played in Amy Dunn’s playlist when she was on that road trip while pretending her husband had murdered her. Sorry for spoiling Gone Girl, but also, it’s iconic; you should’ve seen/read it. ‘Look what you do, you’ll make a killer of a pacifist’

The whole bridge is insane, ‘gonna make it hurt, gonna make it hurt, but I don’t know how to do that within the framework’ sounds like a Nine Inch Nails lyric. The teasing of the piano always sends me over the cliff. As the song starts again, I’m drowning in the abyss of all those emotions about rape, and all my friends who are survivors, and how it feels to feel so powerless in that situation. That’s exactly how this song feels to me.

Sepsis is a small number that doesn’t get a lot of recognition, but it’s a good song about dating and fucking below your ‘status’. ‘And I think I believe in getting saved, not by Jesus, validation in some dudes gaze,’ is exactly how it be sometimes. Blondshell talks about the universal feminine experience. The chorus ‘it should take a whole lot less to turn me off,’ is signaling that she knows her standards are too low, but doesn’t know how to raise them, like a lot of women tbh. ‘I’m going back to him, I know my therapist’s pissed,’ is a true feeling for a lot of therapists, too.

Sober Together is the perfect song for a slow except it’s a song about drugs and how your partner is going back to drugs and leaving you in the sober land. It’s beautiful, it’s messy and complex, it’s Blondshell. I think at this point we can define Blondshell as a messy artist.

Joiner is one of my favorite walking songs to put me in a good mood. There’s just something about that guitar that makes me happy for some reason. Oh yeah, for once we’re not in a Minor key. Even though it’s another song about drugs, ‘I think I wanna save you, I think I wanna join you, two people from the bottom of the bin,’ it’s somehow cheerful. Like that Foster the People song.

Tarmac is another love song, ‘everything revolves around kissing, when he’s here, when I’m alone,’ and it’s not one of my favorites, even though the hook is amazing. It’s another song about punching below your league, being obsessed with Love with the big L, and how it could be with anyone.

Dangerous is the last song of the record, and we’re ending on a sad note. ‘They’re my friends and I’m scared of them,’ it’s deeply reflective of friendship. It’s about how sometimes your friends want you, but then you get stuck in your head, wondering if you’re too much or different. I felt it.

Conclusion of the album, I love it. For a first album, I think it’s incredible what Blondshell has managed to achieve. She’s written about rape in a good way, made some intense reflections on friendships, love, and addiction. It’s a poignant first project that feels raw, honest, and unpolished in the best possible way.

It’s a personal favorite of mine, and I hope it becomes one for you, too.

From Marseille with Love,

*Vapes away*