There may not have been a more perfect album to release on International
Women's Day. Stella Donnelly's debut album, Beware of the Dogs, is
a brutally honest collection of feminist anthems that describe what it's like to be a
women in modern day Australia. Stella uses sarcasm, irony and witty remarks to confront
the toxic actions of men head-on.
Her deep and poignant lyricism gets straight to the heart of the issue, she doesn't beat around the bush, she doesn't really know how to. 'Mosquito' sees her state "I used my vibrator wishing it was
you" as she longs for a lover, whilst 'Old Man' and 'U Owe Me' call out the creepy old men who try to use young girls whilst their wives and children
sit at home. The latter offers a cut-throat anecdote of when Stella worked in a
bar, "you're jerking off to the CCTV, whilst I pour pints of flat
VB".
Her vocal has a pure youthfulness to it, an angelic aura, sounding like
a child discovering song for the first time. There's an excitement in her
voice, as if she can't quite believe that she can sing, her playful delivery
only adding to the sarcasm in her lyrics. Yet she manages to manipulate
her vocal tone to encapsulate the mood of the song. This is shown perfectly in ‘Boys
Will Be Boys’, a heart-wrenching song about victim-blaming and rape culture, you
can hear the pain and sadness in her voice. It’s this ability to control and manipulate the mood and tone of the song
with a vocal shift that is so impressive about Stella. Whilst her lyrics are
cut-throat, her vocal adds the emotion that’s required when dealing with such
topics.
Haiku Review
Witty, sarcastic,
Humorous yet heart-wrenching,
Feminist anthems.
🍒🍒🍒🍒
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