Gig review: Stella Donnelly at The Wardrobe, Leeds

Stella Donnelly nearly walked away from music after being dropped by Secretly Canadian in 2023. The Melbourne based singer-songwriter spent time working in a cemetery and a bakery, figuring out her life after being on the road since her 2017 debut. Then song ideas slowly started coming back to her.

It’s fortunate that her muse returned because she has an infectiously charming stage presence that bubbles into her songs. Drawing heavily from third album Love And Fortune, her work is rooted in the jangly guitars of ’80s indie.

She shares Courtney Barnett’s gift of freewheeling storytelling, taking in everything from vibrators on ‘Mosquito’ to misogyny and toxic masculinity on ‘Mechanical Bull’, ‘Old Man’ and ‘Beware Of The Dogs’ (the latter dedicated to Free Palestine). Their bite is cloaked by a quick wit and an equally quick smile.

These are songs that place the lyrics front and centre, rarely having any surplus notes. Her three-piece band, including support act Jack Gaby on bass and backing vocals, add texture and emotional emphasis to tracks such as ‘Year Of Trouble’. Far less common is the straightforward melodic indie-pop of ‘Feel It Change’. Those with a break, such as former single ‘Tricks’, are rarer still.

Guitar-driven tracks are interspersed by the use of keyboard, primarily played by Ellie Mason. The minimal ‘Baths’ is aptly – if jokingly – introduced as a meditation track, being built around new-age burbles and a folk melody. ‘Die’, complete with a playful dance routine, leans into 80’s electro-pop. These touches bring a variety to the set that belies its relatively simple musical setup.

Clearly in her element on stage, Donnelly brings a personal warmth that elevates her material. She’s also keen on connection – asking the audience for the name of a local beer before slipping Kirkstall Pale Ale into the lyrics of ‘U Owe Me’. These may not be songs destined to make her a fortune, but they are quite clearly loved by the audience.