Stella Donnelly Grabs Back on ‘Beware of the Dogs’

“The world is grabbing back at you,” sings Stella Donnelly on “Old Man,” the opening track off her album Beware of the Dogs. It’s a statement-making introduction to a strong set of songs from the Australian-born Donnelly, who barely winces when putting aggressive, creepy men in their place with her biting lyrics and shedding whoever or whatever isn’t serving her anymore. Her coo can be sweet and contained or wild and loud, a little bit Lily Allen and a little bit Courtney Barnett, but it’s lovely both ways and the songs on Beware of the Dogs are delightful to unpack.

Donnelly’s confessional songs are about more than just the male gaze, but the songs that tackle it are brutal pills to swallow. On “Boys Will Be Boys,” she employs a tone of youthful innocence to bring to light the dark side of the old adage that has let countless men and boys off the hook throughout history. “Your father told you that you’re innocent / Told you women rape themselves / Would you blame your little sister / If she cried to you for help?” she sings. “Why was she all alone / Wearing her shirt that low?” Echoing the injustice and humiliation women face when they have the courage to come forward, Donnelly mocks the standard victim-blaming questions in smart, tight verses. On “Old Man,” she builds a kind of hybrid person out of all the worst traits of white male privilege, but doesn’t crouch. Instead she embraces her power to instill a little fear in him. Silence is complicity, she concludes.

Across Beware of the Dogs, Donnelly has fun with dreamy synths and minimalist percussion, hazy harmonies and pop melodies that leave stars in your eyes. The album finds a self-assured Donnelly dodging uncomfortable confrontations with her family (“Seasons Greetings”), feeling the loneliness of being on tour (“Lunch”), and dealing with her own heartbreak from intimate relationships (“Allergies”), usually finding a way to laugh at the madness as she leaves it in the rearview.