"well I can't turn away / no I can't rework the plot / already wrote the end / but it isn't what you want..."
While songs are comprised of many things, words and melody bound by it's cadence and stories told by a suitable voice to convey the emotional thrust that is needed, "Ghostwriter" by Stress Dolls, the moniker of Buffalo, New York alt pop, alt rock artist Chelsea O'Donnell, feels like much, much more. The runaway sound, explosive and swinging, like a collision of folk, indie rock and cow punk feels literally ablaze and Chelsea's husky vocal countenance, a spicy cut of naked grittiness, self awareness and vulnerability heaps added emotional weight to the fire. The featured violin performance by Sally Schaefer, a multi-instrumentalist who is currently touring with 10,000 Maniacs and Leigh Nash (Sixpence None the Richer), offsets Chelsea's pummeling guitar work with it's plaintive melodies. More fiddle than violin to my ears there is a busker sensibility too giving the track a unfettered rustic sense and stories that feel born or seeded from cow boys and girls wearing shit kicker boots.
Of the track, Chelsea shares:
"This song was somewhat inspired by my struggles with anxiety and how it feels like it's the undercurrent of my daily life. Sometimes, when I let it get out of control, it feels like it has more control that I do - I'm not my own narrator, my anxiety is (aka the 'ghostwriter')."
"Ghostwriter" is accompanied with a stellar Official Video as directed, filmed, and edited by Brandon Schlia.
https://www.tiktok.com/@stressdolls
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2L4MBngvappicW4avjknRZ
https://www.instagram.com/stressdolls
Stress Dolls is the moniker of Chelsea O'Donnell, an alt/pop/rock artist from Buffalo, NY.
O'Donnell began playing around Western New York in 2013, initially calling herself Wolf and eventually forming a band. After releasing one EP, the group went through a few different line-ups and, in time, changed their name to Stress Dolls. In the Spring of 2016 the band recorded a self-titled EP at GCR Audio and released the recording later that same year. Over the next several months they performed in Buffalo as well as neighboring cities and towns, and opened shows for touring acts such as Shonen Knife, We Are Scientists, and USS.
Due to differing pursuits the band split in early 2017, but O'Donnell decided to keep playing under the name Stress Dolls. She made a move to Nashville, TN but was only there for 6 months before chronic health issues she had been struggling with sent her to the hospital to undergo a feeding tube procedure. Following the surgery she moved back to Buffalo, and after a period of recovery, began writing, performing, and recording again.
From 2019 to 2021 O'Donnell independently recorded and released new music, and in early 2022 she was invited to work with Jim Wirt (Jack's Mannequin, Something Corporate, Incubus) at Superior Sound Studios in Cleveland, OH. After recording several songs together, including her upcoming single, "Body," she was offered a record deal with Sun Pedal Recordings.
Her sound has drawn such comparisons as "Joni Mitchell meets Nirvana," "Avril Lavigne and Foo Fighters in a blender," and "Kathleen Hanna fronting Modest Mouse."
"well I can't turn away / no I can't rework the plot / already wrote the end / but it isn't what you want / try to ignore the edits, but it doesn't mean they're gone / still hidden, locked and loaded / like the guilt you prey upon / tuck in left over questions: the what, the where and why? / if feels like you're the ghostwriter / in the pages of this life..."
"Ghostwriter" was produced by Jim Wirt, who has worked with such artists as Jack's Mannequin, Something Corporate, Fiona Apple, and Incubus.
It's the second single off of Stress Dolls upcoming album that will be released by Sun Pedal Recordings (Tragic Hero Music Group).
It's the second single off of Stress Dolls upcoming album that will be released by Sun Pedal Recordings (Tragic Hero Music Group).
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.tiktok.com/@stressdolls
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2L4MBngvappicW4avjknRZ
https://www.instagram.com/stressdolls
Stress Dolls is the moniker of Chelsea O'Donnell, an alt/pop/rock artist from Buffalo, NY.
O'Donnell began playing around Western New York in 2013, initially calling herself Wolf and eventually forming a band. After releasing one EP, the group went through a few different line-ups and, in time, changed their name to Stress Dolls. In the Spring of 2016 the band recorded a self-titled EP at GCR Audio and released the recording later that same year. Over the next several months they performed in Buffalo as well as neighboring cities and towns, and opened shows for touring acts such as Shonen Knife, We Are Scientists, and USS.
Due to differing pursuits the band split in early 2017, but O'Donnell decided to keep playing under the name Stress Dolls. She made a move to Nashville, TN but was only there for 6 months before chronic health issues she had been struggling with sent her to the hospital to undergo a feeding tube procedure. Following the surgery she moved back to Buffalo, and after a period of recovery, began writing, performing, and recording again.
From 2019 to 2021 O'Donnell independently recorded and released new music, and in early 2022 she was invited to work with Jim Wirt (Jack's Mannequin, Something Corporate, Incubus) at Superior Sound Studios in Cleveland, OH. After recording several songs together, including her upcoming single, "Body," she was offered a record deal with Sun Pedal Recordings.
Her sound has drawn such comparisons as "Joni Mitchell meets Nirvana," "Avril Lavigne and Foo Fighters in a blender," and "Kathleen Hanna fronting Modest Mouse."
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