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Blond in Car Turns Heartbreak Into Dream-Pop Gold on New Album GLIDER
Los Angeles-based indie-pop artist Blond in Car, the musical project of former film producer Robin Schorr, released her new album GLIDER. Produced by acclaimed musician Jay Som, the 11-track project brings together shimmering retro-pop melodies, sharp-witted songwriting, and an impressive lineup of collaborators, including members of Mannequin Pussy and Yumi Zouma.
Behind the album's sun-soaked production lies a surprisingly vulnerable collection of songs examining divorce, complicated family relationships, loneliness, and the strange beauty of starting over.
Opening track “Driving Thru” introduces Blond in Car's melodic world before “How To Be a Mystery,” featuring Jack Newsome, offers a playful portrait of an effortlessly captivating woman and the unrequited longing she inspires. “If You Were My Brother,” featuring BEL, continues that bittersweet perspective, pairing surf-pop energy with an unexpectedly touching examination of loneliness.
One of the album's defining moments arrives with “Bad Dad,” featuring Missy Dabice of Mannequin Pussy. Inspired by Schorr's complicated relationship with her father, the viral single confronts the lasting emotional consequences of childhood experiences without abandoning her trademark humor.
Elsewhere, “Soft Touch” features Christie Simpson of Yumi Zouma, while “Eyeshadow Blue” welcomes Liam Benzvi.
The album's release-day focus track, “Shaky Day,” featuring Jay Som, takes a particularly personal direction. Inspired by Schorr's older sister Lynn, the song celebrates the comfort of having someone who can offer reassurance when life becomes overwhelming, with Jay Som contributing expansive vocal harmonies.
Having amassed more than 750,000 social media followers following her viral Omnichord performances, Blond in Car has attracted attention from artists including SZA, Rosalía, Aurora, and Marina.
With GLIDER, Blond in Car delivers a colorful, emotionally candid collection that finds room for humor, heartbreak, and hope, proving that growing older doesn't mean losing your sense of wonder.
Your new album GLIDER explores everything from heartbreak and divorce to family relationships, often through bright, playful pop songs. How did you approach balancing humor and vulnerability while writing such personal material?
I seem to have a tendency to write sad, or rather tough lyrics with really pretty melodies, and it creates a very melancholy vibe, which I love. I do cover a lot of terrain in this album and a bunch of musical vibes, from the Beatles-esque pop of “Looking For Proof” to jangly rock on “Shaky Day” and “Bad Dad,” and I worried that the record wouldn’t be cohesive.
But what holds it all together is the classy production by Melina Duterte (aka Jay Som) and my vocal and writing style. I solo wrote all the songs on the album, so I think that my style of melody writing is present in every song.
The humor mixed with sadness just goes with all of that. I think a lot about what subjects are worthy of a song. I am always having song ideas, but I sift through them and only commit when I think a subject or a mood is important enough, relatable enough, profound enough.
Often that ends up being something that has sadness in it, or at least a kind of longing or wistfulness. Combine that with a pretty melody, and you end up with something bittersweet.
“Bad Dad” addresses the lasting impact of your relationship with your father, and its Omnichord performance resonated with millions online. Did the response surprise you, and has sharing something so personal changed your relationship with your audience?
I love the response to “Bad Dad,” and I think it’s hitting exactly right. I see the song as equal parts devastating, angry, fun, and triumphant. I made T-shirts that say, “Fuck it I’m another damaged girl,” and they keep selling out, to damaged girls of all genders. I love it.
The song is cathartic to me because I was so determined my whole life to pretend as though my mean father hadn’t gotten to me, but the truth is that he DID hurt me, and in the song I’m owning it.
I am not saying that he won or that I’m obsessed with the childhood pain, but I am proud of the fact that I am damaged and I am carrying on being ME.
My audience, who mostly finds me on social media, all think I’m the cool mom they wish they had, and I love that. This feels consistent with that kindness, self-acceptance, and relatability. I think they feel soothed by the idea that a mom and a person my age can relate to childhood trauma but emerge happy, fun, and kind.
You worked with Jay Som on GLIDER, alongside collaborators including Missy Dabice, BEL, and members of Yumi Zouma. How did these creative partnerships influence the album, and what did they bring out in your songwriting?
I wrote the whole album before asking my illustrious guests to be featured on the songs, and I was so proud that every person I asked said yes immediately.
But I made the whole record with Melina Duterte (aka Jay Som), and she impacted the songs greatly, in all of the best ways.
She made such important tweaks and suggestions throughout the process, and her fingerprints are on every molecule of this album.
She has exquisite taste, is a consummate producer and musician, and is actually encyclopedic in her love of music, so it didn’t faze her to do songs that are more pop than her usual music or production work.
She is a funky person and one hell of a guitar and bass player. And she even plays trumpet on my sexy song, “Soft Touch.” It turns out she was a bit of a trumpet nerd growing up, and I love that part of her.
“Shaky Day” is inspired by your older sister Lynn and the comfort she provides during difficult moments. Why was this relationship important to capture in a song, and what made it the right track to spotlight alongside the album's release?
I’m a mood swing kind of person, and it’s a pretty exhausting way to live.
I had the idea for this song years ago, and I always loved the name “Shaky Day” because I love a song name that rhymes with itself, and I think this is a beautiful one.
I wrote it two different times but was never happy with those versions. That is very unlike me. I only rarely abandon a song, and it’s even rarer that I pick it back up. But when I was writing for the album, I thought, let’s try again, and I was very happy with this version.
It’s one of my favorite songs I have ever written because I think it’s a super beautiful melody, a very simple but deep lyric, and it is a song of maximum kindness, which is something I try to express. I truly believe that this song might really help people on one of those awful days, and that means a lot to me.
I always dedicate this song to my big sister because she is always tasked with talking me down when I’m in a low mood. She always lightens it up because she has seen me high and low so, so, so many times.
She knows that the bad mood is as ephemeral as smoke, and soon it will lift. But I know I’m very lucky to have her just a phone call away.
She loves the song.
You've gone from working as a film producer to building a music career with more than 800,000 followers and your first headlining shows. What has this chapter taught you about reinventing yourself, and what do you hope your journey demonstrates about pursuing creative ambitions later in life?
I’m constantly amazed that I get to do the things I’m doing in music.
When I quit film to learn songwriting, I certainly never, ever thought I would be writing original indie pop songs that I would sing, and never in a million years thought I would be singing in front of people at 3,000-capacity venues opening for the likes of CMAT.
Living a life in music is the greatest joy, and I am so grateful and happy that I found my calling as a songwriter just in time to do all of this before I die.
When I quit film and I would tell people I was quitting to become a songwriter, people seemed a bit sad for me or at least concerned, as though it was a silly dream and they didn’t want me to be hurt or embarrassed.
I found it so odd that the announcement was always greeted with this distress. But I would say to people then, and it’s how I feel: I don’t know about you, but I only have one life, and I am going to do everything I can before it’s over.
The whole anti-age bias that is so potent in our world is a big cause to me, and I want to show the world that being old is not boring, sad, or repulsive. In fact, I'm happier than I have ever been in my life, way happier than in my 20s, 30s, 40s, or ever.
I want people to see that that is very possible for them too.
