[3][1][4][2] She wrote mostly by herself during this period, a departure from the professional songwriters she had worked with as Baum,[2] and initially approached the new music as "diary songs nobody's gonna hear".

[2] "Salad" was inspired by Hole's "Doll Parts" and Nirvana's "You Know You're Right";[1] The Guardian described it as "wig-blowing goth-rock somewhere between the Cranberries’ angst and Depeche Mode’s shiny edges".

[4] "Joiner", reminiscent of Courtney Barnett,[6] was influenced by Britpop artists like The Verve, Pulp, Suede, and Blur (who Teitelbaum said "channeled dark subject matter, drugs, and all this dirty stuff, but with a fun acoustic guitar under it"), as well as punk band The Replacements;[14][1][15] Rolling Stone compared the song to a darker version of Blur's "Coffee & TV".

[1] Lyrically, the album explores themes of heartbreak, anger, toxic relationship dynamics, queerness, addiction and substance abuse, social anxiety, and teenage media consumption.

[16] A second single, "Kiss City", was released the following month,[19] reaching over 900,000 Spotify streams and garnering praise from Rolling Stone and The New York Times;[1] she simultaneously announced July and September tour dates with Horsegirl and Porridge Radio.

[11][25] The Suki Waterhouse tour included stops at the El Rey and Fonda theatres in Los Angeles and at South by Southwest;[2][10][24] the latter saw Blondshell perform at Spin's Five Worlds party at SXSW, sponsored by Diageo, alongside Urban Heat and Chulita Vinyl Club.

[24] On March 31, she debuted the album's sixth single, "Salad", on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, with the song being officially released on April 5.

"[34] Caleb Campbell of The Line of Best Fit wrote that the album was "the sound of an artist finally getting to let loose and say the things that have stayed locked up inside for too long" and "an exciting introduction to a talented songwriter and a thoroughly rewarding debut.

"[36] Sahar Ghadirian of Clash magazine praised the album's "sharp lyricism" and called it "a euphoric alt-rock record" and "a bold body of work, exciting and unfiltered".

"[35] Mojo magazine's James McNair wrote, "Now 25 and treading Nirvana/Hole-influenced terrain better suited to the bleed and luster of these uncensored songs of self-empowerment, [Teitelbaum] has found her perfect skin.

"[38] James Hickey of DIY magazine wrote that "in its weaker moments, [the album] betrays a new artist trying to make songs with big choruses and relatable lyrics but falling short on both.