In 2018 we saw Stella Donnelly's smash debut EP Thrush Metal. The 2017 Unearthed Artist of the Year has announced her first full-length effort Beware of the Dogs due out March 8. To celebrate she is sharing the lead single, 'Old Man.'
Featuring a full band and shedding some folksy intimacy, Donnelly has set out to crush the patriarchy with grace and formidable talent. “It was a very strange feeling for me watching the world change right before my eyes and to see that these men, who had exploited their power for so long, were actually being held accountable for their actions,” Donnelly says.
'Boy if you touch her again
I'll tell your wife and your kids
Cos this is not ninety-three
You lost your spot on the team
You're out of line'
Donnelly, with her guileless vocals, presents poignant lyricism above a charming instrumental backdrop. “I came up with the chords and chorus to this song in 2017 around the time when Woody Allen called the #MeToo movement a witch hunt," she adds.
'And no it's never too late, we sat there silently while
You kept your job and your place and your six-figure wage
Oh, are you scared of me, old man?
Or are you scared of what I'll do?
cause it's our words that will keep Our daughters safe'
In a time when women are the most heard they have ever been her message comes as a decisive riposte. In ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ she defended the victims of assault, but in 'Old Man' she unleashes a tragically ubiquitous story that's as frank as it is scathing. In a post-Weinstein world, Donnelly continues to be a beacon of young talent and fearlessness beyond her years.
Beware of the Dogs will be released March 8. Check out the video for lead single below.