Stella Donnelly is a young songwriter with a knack for wrapping unapologetic, brutally honest lyrics with a soaring lullaby to mesmeric effect. With just one EP release to boot, last year's lauded Thrush Metal, she has already garnered worldwide critical acclaim and has an undeniably bright future ahead.
Full of sharp lyrical punchlines, Stella's standout songwriting on Thrush Metal is an empowering and relatable guidebook to life as a young woman in our age of Trump, Tinder and Third-Wave feminism. First single, "Boys Will Be Boys" has been described by New York Times as "A delicate waltz [that] carries a bitter reproach to blaming the victims of sexual assault. 'Why was she all alone/Wearing her shirt that low? she sings, and then her voice rises and roughens." Written in late 2016, the track tackles society's tendency to blame the victims of sexual assault and rape and making excuses for the perpetrators.
Yet this insightful account isn't limited to "Boys Will Be Boys". Take new bonus track, "Talking", which explores the ever-so-common feeling that you're in a one-sided relationship from a distinctly millennial perspective and new single, "Mechanical Bull", a pithy but potent track that addresses the male tendency to persist unwanted sexual advances.