Du Blonde

Du Blonde ’s swaggering, heart-on-sleeve rock came into being when musician, composer, animator, and video director Beth Jeans Houghton reinvented her music. On albums including 2019′s self-produced Lung Bread for Daddy, Houghton matched the heavy sounds of punk, blues, garage rock, and soul with cathartic songwriting. Later, she let some glimpses of pop peek through on 2021′s Homecoming without sacrificing any of her music’s bravery or honesty about heartbreak and mental illness.
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Houghton began writing and performing while still in her teens. A self-taught guitarist, she first appeared in front of an audience in 2006, ultimately sharing the stage with artists including Imogen Heap, St. Vincent, and Euros Childs. That year, Bird Records issued her self-titled debut single as a limited-edition 7″. The following year, she signed to Static Caravan Recordings, who released the single “Golden/Nightswimmer” and her second EP, Hot Toast, Vol. 1, which was produced by Tuung’s Mike Lindsay.
Despite the acclaim these releases earned, little more was heard from Houghton until 2011, when it was revealed that she had relocated to Los Angeles and signed to Mute Records. Featuring production by Ben Hillier and recorded with her band the Hooves of Destiny, Houghton’s debut album, Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose, ranged from ethereal folk-pop to more unpredictable sounds; upon its February 2012 release, it hit number 83 on the U.K. Albums Chart.
While recording the follow-up to Cellophane Nose, Houghton felt creatively blocked. After breaking up the Hooves of Destiny and scrapping an album’s worth of material, she spent much of 2013 traveling the United States. Her trip to the Pacific Coast with Future Islands’ Samuel T. Herring resulted in several songs that became the basis of her new musical incarnation. Working with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds drummer Jim Sclavunos as producer, she recorded Du Blonde’s first album, Welcome Back to Milk, in London and Los Angeles. Featuring the Herring collaboration “Mind Is on My Mind,” the album appeared in May 2015.
Following the Welcome Back to Milk tour, Houghton embarked on several projects that included her comic book series Butt Hurt and directing and animating music videos for artists such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ezra Furman, and LUMP. After seeking help for her lifelong issues with anxiety and depression in early 2018, she began work on the second Du Blonde album. Recording in London and Oakland, California, Houghton took on production duties and played most of the instruments, working with bassist Jorgen Jorgenson Briggs and drummer Sam Durkes to round out the album’s sound. The unflinching results, Lung Bread for Daddy, arrived on Moshi Moshi in February 2019. For her next album, Houghton collaborated with Shirley Manson, Ezra Furman, Andy Bell, and members of Girl Ray and Tuung. Appearing in March 2021, Homecoming embellished on the heavy sound of Du Blonde’s previous work with touches of pop and glam-rock. ~ Heather Phares