Secret Meeting score: 79
by Joseph Purcell
After signing with US indie Label, Secretly Canadian, the incredibly talented Stella Donnelly now has the platform to share her strong messages, which are on show throughout this terrific debut.
The entitled male psyche has been tolerated and excused for far too long, and Donnelly delivers a collection of poignant songs that rightfully challenge this – demanding a reflective ear and moments of contemplation from the listener in order for them to digest the tales of abuse, cruelty and sexism evident in her songs.
Thrush Metal begins with Mechanical Bull. Described by Donnelly as a song ‘dedicated to people who work in hospitality who have to deal with customers, especially, drunk ones, harassing them and making objectifying comments’, it is a first person account. Over the sound of a raw acoustic guitar, Donnelly paints a picture for the listener of a young woman harassed and trapped by leering men, perfectly illustrating her stream of thoughts and her desire to break out and strike back in a rage: ‘I’m gonna throw you all off me like a mechanical bull, and you’ll be sorry’. Her experiences are married through the pitch, tone and ferocity of her voice as, mantra like, she rattles off the list of denigrating catcalls- ‘I’ll be your darling, tits, legs, honey sweet pea’, building to the song’s furious crescendo – ‘I need to be alone, you’ve been at my throat’.
After the spiteful rebellion of Mechanical Bull, Donnelly broaches emotional turmoil, and eloquently challenges the shameless victim blaming of the unfortunately still evident entitled, smug, arrogant parts of society. Described by the New York Times as ‘A delicate waltz (that) carries a bitter reproach to blaming the victims of sexual assault,’ she sings on Boys Will Be Boys – ‘Why was she all alone/Wearing her shirt that low?’ It is a remarkable track, into which Donnelly channelled her own frustrations and anger, after one of her friends was sexually assaulted. Speaking to FACT, Donnelly stated, ‘I felt helpless, hopeless about what had happened to my friend. I wanted to get revenge without directly affecting that person and I wrote with the hope that they would hear it one day and (also) people who had blamed victims of sexual assault – even girlfriends of mine had said stuff like, ‘why did you go home with him?” During Boys Will Be Boys, Donnelly probes and challenges the attitudes that excuse sexual assault and blame victims in an articulate, yet, direct manner- gently singing ‘would you blame your little sister, if she cried for your help?’
The rest of Thrush Metal EP continues to show Donnelly’s songwriting gift, and her wonderful voice. This is none more evident than on A Poem – ‘You are just a bee-sting, swollen in my chest, and something must have died for, you to be my best’. A track that meanders along in contrast to the reactive aggression of Mechanical Bull, highlighting Donnelly’s dexterity in her song writing.
Thrush Metal is an incredible starting point for Donnelly, and one which suggests she could be a vital voice moving forward through her ability to harness deep emotional turmoil into beautifully haunting music. With a refreshingly direct approach to the issues of contemporary society, Donnelly has shown just how vital her voice can be. Her abilities are undoubted, and on Mechanical Bull and Boys Will Be Boys in particular, she has created tracks that many don’t in significantly longer careers. Her next challenge will be to turn a debut EP of great promise into a full album of the lyrical dynamite that she has given the world a taste of.
Like the sound of Stella? Check out our live review here.
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