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Thrush Metal

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Not to be confused with Thrash metal.
Thrush Metal
Stella Donnelly eating from a bowl of noodles on a table.
EP by
Stella Donnelly
Released6 April 2017
Genre
Length18:01
Label
ProducerJordan Shakespeare
Stella Donnelly chronology
Thrush Metal
(2017) 		Beware of the Dogs
(2019)

Thrush Metal is the debut extended play (EP) by Australian singer-songwriter Stella Donnelly, self-released on 6 April 2017 digitally and on cassette. Consisting of five acoustic demo tracks, the EP received critical acclaim and led to Donnelly's signing with Secretly Canadian who issued its first vinyl pressing.

At the 2017 West Australian Music Industry Awards, Thrush Metal won Best EP, with Donnelly winning four other awards including Best Popular New Act and Best Female Vocalist.

Background and composition

[edit]

Prior to releasing music, Stella Donnelly was playing in a few bands and working two hospitality jobs in Fremantle.[3] In 2017, she recorded the five tracks on Thrush Metal as demos with just her guitar in her boyfriend's lounge room.[4][5] She intended them to sound "as raw as possible and authentic to how [she] would sound live".[6]

Donnelly wrote "Boys Will Be Boys" in 2016 after her friend was raped,[5] and when conversations about sexual assault were "far less frequent".[1] She said writing the song was cathartic and helped her "relieve a lot of the shame that victims are so often forced to feel in silence".[7] Her own experiences of sexism working in hospitality inspired the opening track "Mechanical Bull".[5] According to Shaad D'Souza of music publication Pitchfork, Thrush Metal "cast[s] a disdainful eye on every manner of shitty man, from the abusive ones, to the manipulative ones, to the ones who are just plain mean".[8]

Release and promotion

[edit]
Donnelly performing in 2017.

Donnelly released Thrush Metal independently on 6 April 2017 to Bandcamp.[9] A limited run of 30 cassette tapes was issued by Healthy Tapes,[10] who, unbeknownst to the musician, also uploaded the EP to Spotify. After the streaming platform added "Mechanical Bull" to an influential playlist, Donnelly was contacted by dozens of labels and managers.[11] She embarked on an Australian tour for the EP in August 2017.[2] Later that year, she won Levi's Music Prize at Bigsound 2017,[12] and took out Triple J Unearthed Artist of the Year[13] after "Mechanical Bull" was her first song to be added on Triple J's full rotation.[12]

In February 2018, Donnelly signed with Secretly Canadian,[14] and later that June, the label released the EP on vinyl for the first time, packaged with a bonus track entitled "Talking".[7]

Critical reception

[edit]

Thrush Metal was released to critical acclaim. Reviewing for Exclaim!, Paul Blinov called the EP as "showcase [of] the nascent talent of a songwriter with her ear trained on the here and now".[15] Joseph Purchell of Secret Meeting said it was 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".[16]

At the 2017 West Australian Music Industry Awards, Donnelly won five awards from Thrush Metal, including Best EP and Best Single for "Mechanical Bull". She was also named Best Female Vocalist and Most Popular New Act.[17]

Track listing

[edit]
Digital and cassette track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Mechanical Bull"2:41
2."Boys Will Be Boys"4:02
3."Mean to Me"4:21
4."Grey"3:10
5."A Poem"3:46
Total length:18:01
LP track listing
No.TitleLength
6."Talking"3:11
Total length:21:12

Release history

[edit]
List of release formats for Thrush Metal
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Australia, New Zealand 6 April 2017
Healthy Tapes [18]
Various 25 August 2017 Streaming [19]
United States 22 June 2018 LP record Secretly Canadian [14]

References

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  1. ^ a b Akinfenwa, Jumi. "Thrush Metal songwriter Stella Donnelly is a feminist folk hero on the rise". Fact. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Stella Donnelly Interview: Bringing 'Thrush Metal' to the masses". Pilerats. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  3. ^ Birrell, Alice (29 December 2019). "Stella Donnelly on fashion, sexism and proving people wrong". Vogue. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  4. ^ Gwee, Karen (25 November 2019). "Meet Stella Donnelly, one of Australia's sharpest new songwriters". Guitar.com. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Simon, Collins (17 August 2017). "Sexist slings and arrows fire up Donnelly". The West Australian. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Likening the Quidditch World Cup to Bigsound with Stella Donnelly". Happy Mag. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Thrush Metal, by Stella Donnelly". Bandcamp. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  8. ^ D'Souza, Shaad (26 February 2018). "'Mechanical Bull'". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  9. ^ Daly, Rhian (31 March 2018). "Stella Donnelly on her powerful song 'Boys Will Be Boys' and how 'the pendulum's really swung back' against abusers". NME. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  10. ^ Moodie, Claire (28 November 2017). "Cassette tapes making a comeback thanks to young, independent artists". ABC News. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  11. ^ Snapes, Laura (13 March 2019). "Stella Donnelly: 'I'm more than happy to cause friction among the right wing'". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  12. ^ a b McGahey, Freya (11 September 2017). "Western Australia's Stella Donnelly takes out the inaugural Levi's Music Prize at Bigsound". Happy Mag. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  13. ^ Newstead, Al (10 January 2019). "First Spin: Stella Donnelly announces debut album with 'Old Man'". Triple J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  14. ^ a b Day, Laurence (27 February 2018). "Stella Donnelly signs to Secretly Canadian and reissues debut EP Thrush Metal". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  15. ^ Blinov, Paul (21 June 2018). "Stella Donnelly – Thrush Metal". Exclaim!. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  16. ^ Purcell, Joseph (26 June 2018). "Stella Donnelly – Thrush Metal EP review". Secret Meeting. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  17. ^ Collins, Simon (3 November 2017). "Stella year capped at WA music awards". The West Australian. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  18. ^ "Thrush Metal (AUS/NZ Edition), by Stella Donnelly". Bandcamp. 6 April 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  19. ^ "Thrush Metal – Stella Donnelly". Spotify. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
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