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Stella Donnelly’s new album has a complexity that may not be taken in on first listen, however the deeper you get the more you discover.
Stella Donnelly took a break from music in 2023 after extensive touring for her second album Flood.
This led the Australian indie singer-songwriter to question whether she even wanted to pursue music anymore, stemming from a mixture of burnout and longing for a sense of normality.
She took up a job in a bakery, and whilst the reprieve was initially welcomed, the mundanity of routine reinforced Donnelly’s need to return to music.
Her most personal album so far, the overarching theme throughout Love And Fortune is the breakdown of a friendship (narrating the pain and sadness which comes with loss).
Stella Donnelly examines heartbreak, pettiness, self-reflection and picking up the pieces to move on, yet this album isn’t a finger pointing exercise in blaming the other person, rather Donnelly examines her own shame and the grief of her actions.
It has a complexity that may not be taken in on first listen, however the deeper you get the more you discover.
Opening track Standing Ovation begins as a slow burn, Donnelly singing over a soft synth, reflecting on past mistakes and apologising for her actions.
It’s introspective and an interesting place to open Love And Fortune; here we get the first sign of things to come relating to endings and goodbyes.
Halfway through we’re greeted with an uptempo blend of guitar and drums as Donnelly comments on being ghosted and looking for truths while surrounded by lies.
On Feel It Change, the script is flipped from self reflection to looking at the destruction of a friendship by the other person’s actions.
Donnelly tells the listener about how she’s been made to feel and the way that things are different now, although it does verge into claiming the moral high ground.
For Donnelly, if she had received her apology initially things wouldn’t be this way: ‘That you’d come over tell me I was right, that I’m the perfect friend who does no harm.’
Vocals take centre stage on Baths, a hidden gem tucked midway between two of the most important tracks on the album.
It’s hauntingly beautiful and, for the first time here, Donnelly is in her truest form. Diverting from her usual indie rock sound, it’s reminiscent of traditional Celtic folktales, perhaps a nod to her Welsh heritage.
Donnelly demonstrates the connection she shares with her family and how she is aware that things can’t last the same way forever. The vocal has a slight echo, similar to the sound of ripples in water.
Year Of Trouble is a sister track to Feel It Change, where Donnelly recognises her part in the situation. Vulnerably raw, she lets her guard down and sees the consequence of her actions, reminiscing on past memories and wondering where her friend is now, describing the pain of loss and the journey which she’s taken since (‘I’ve been on a lonely ride’).
Title-track Love and Fortune is a piano ballad looking at self help books and ‘designing her own breakthrough’, despite the previous hurt, she seems to be coming out the other side.
Closer Laying Low is a groovy low-key return to indie-rock form; both the pain and relief of moving on acknowledged as she says in her final lyric, ‘I’m done saying goodbye’.
When Stella Donnelly took a break from music she didn’t know if she would return. Thankfully she did – Love And Fortune is a mature reflection of her journey to get there.
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