135. Album Review of Queen of No (Re-Released) by Stress Dolls
Originally Published on May 23rd, 2025
About the Artist
Who doesn’t love a story of redemption? Fighting for independence? Taking back what is rightfully ours? I love those stories. As independent artists, sometimes we tend to turn a blind eye to the surgeon general warning label that comes with signing to a record label. We ignore the warning signs that are before us when working in the industry. We let ourselves get distracted by the chance to hear our song on the radio, or stand on a stage and perform in front of an audience that are screaming our lyrics back to us. I’ve had that dream. I’m sure most of us have.
The truth is the music industry can turn those dreams into a nightmare really fast. Nothing can be more overwhelming than a dispute over the rights to music. The music industry controls the narrative in today’s mainstream music. There isn’t a talent big enough to change that. Yet. Even Taylor Swift famously found herself in a battle over the rights to her music to where she resolved on re-releasing a large portion of her catalog. A couple of months ago, I went to a Joy Oladokun concert where she confided that, after the release of her latest album, OBSERVATIONS FROM A CROWDED ROOM, she was immediately dropped from her label, UMG. And today, as we go about our business, Universal UMG is quietly trying to monopolize the industry, as they acquire Downtown Music, who owns platforms like CD Baby, FUGA, and Songtrust. As an artist, myself, who has their music distributed by CD Baby, it’s a bit concerning.
Needless to say, it’s nice to hear the little wins. I know Taylor Swift is the biggest celebrity in the world, but she is technically independent. So, when she took the advice of Kelly Clarkson and took control of her music, it was a nice victory for the musician. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are giving platforms to independent artists who are making names for themselves (even if they are having to do it through Meta and other large platforms), and a smaller story I was recently made aware of is the victory that was won by Chelsea O’Donnell, the leading lady of the band, Stress Dolls.
Stress Dolls, the moniker of O’Donnell, is a music project/band out of Buffalo, New York. Prior to Stress Dolls, O’Donnell got her start playing in the band, Wolf, which after releasing an EP and going through a few lineup changes, would later become Stress Dolls. Their debut EP, Stress Dolls, was released in 2016.
After the band decided to part ways in 2017, O’Donnell continued to play as Stress Dolls and made the decision to move to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue her dream of breaking into the music scene. Unfortunately, the move was short-lived as she began to suffer from illnesses and ailments that would have her return to Buffalo. It was at this time that Streas Dolls would primarily become a solo endeavor.
In 2020, Stress Dolls would release their first music in 4 years; the single, Nashville. Nashville is a brilliantly written, cleverly-crafted rock song that infuses a country swing and speaks about her personal experience of having to leave Nashville, and deliberating whether or not she would return.
As if O’Donnell’s story hasn’t been interesting enough, it is here where her career takes an interesting turn. In 2022, she begins working with Jim Wirt of Superior Sound Studios in Cleveland, Ohio. After recording and releasing the songs Body and Ghostwriter, in 2023, she was offered a record deal with Sun Pedal Records, and in 2024, released her debut album, Queen of No.
The relationship with Sun Pedal Records dissolved and a battle to obtain her rights ensued. It ultimately and inevitably ended with O’Donnell having to buy the rights to her own music back, but, as of May of 2025, she obtained the rights to her own music and is currently re-releasing Queen of No on her very own label, Angry Girl Music. She is in the process of having the changes made with her distributors, as Spotify still lists Sun Pedal, but make no mistake, Queen of No is once again, all hers. So, to mark this victory for the independent artist; because we are Chelsea O’Donnell and Stress Dolls, I decided I would review this as a new independent release.
About the Album
Queen of No is the debut album of Buffalo, New York recording artist, Stress Dolls. After originally releasing under Sun Pedal Records in 2024, it has been re-released by Angry Girl Music, LLC (owned by Chelsea O’Donnell) in May of 2025. Queen of No is 11 songs and runs at 34 minutes. All songs and lyrics were written by Chelsea O’Donnell, a BMI recording artist.
About the Music
Queen of No on the service would be described as a grunge, punk, or alternative album. It features a range of instrumental performance, primarily led by the holy trinity of rock performance; bass, drums, and guitar. Vocally, O’Donnel mostly sings in an alto range, but also showcases a very beautifully performed upper register at times.
Queen of No opens with Alone a fast tempo, pop punk song that incorporates a fluid chord progression a very open percussion performance, additional arpeggiated guitar parts, and a lively bass composition. Instrumentally, the talent of each performer is clearly evident. They each have the opportunity to showcase their skill but they do so in uniformity with the song.
Stress Dolls keep the energy high as they transition right into Body. O’Donnell’s vocal performance is remarkable in this song. She transitions from her hard-hitting alto to a very cute and appealing falsetto hit at the end of each line that demonstrates an ear-catching level of personality.
Close Enough slightly slows the tempo down as this could almost be considered a “power ballad,” but I think it may be a little faster than that. Here, O’Donnell gives us yet another look at her versatility as a vocal performance as she performs much of the song in her very beautiful, very soft upper register. This paired with the clean arpeggiated guitar in the beginning of the song eases us into the progression of the music. I really love the transition from the upper register to the alto full vocal performance. Close Enough is one of those tracks that I would definitely showcase from this album if I were promoting it. It is radio-ready, it can cross over into the pop and mainstream genres, and it has a really cool music video that serves as strong visual content for the song.
Ghostwriter is a short, cool punk/grunge song that features an awesome solo from violinist, Sally Schaefer, played stylistically as an Irish Fiddle track. The fiddle really brightens the grunge atmosphere of the song. This was a phenomenal decision from a production standpoint. It truly made the song pop out.
My favorite song on the album is Pretty. The verse plays over a repeated riff from the guitar that has a vibe similar to older songs by Interpol - just the guitar. O’Donnell does a great job of incorporating a lot of personality in her vocal performances. It’s in subtle ways, like how she might cut off of a lyric, sliding upwards in a playful way that’s not often thought about by a vocal performer. In fact, you could say she is ignoring technical rules of vocal performance and she is just performing emotionally. It’s further brilliant because it’s clear she can perform within the parameters of technical correctness. She does it throughout the album. It’s in these quirky moments where she ignores the rules for her passion that she stands out the most. I guess you could say that about any great performer. They transcend good by ignoring the rules required to be “good,” and they do something great.
Another very strong song on Queen of No is Spark. It’s a steady uptempo, it is dynamically mid-range, primarily accompanied by a clean guitar and pocket drum performance. O’Donnell shines vocally and lyrically, with a song that could easily cross over to a number of mainstream genres. Spark is a definite standout performance by Stress Dolls.
Final Thoughts
After listening to Queen of No, it is no surprise how they landed a record deal. The music produced is diverse, dynamic, and on more than one occasion, has the ability to cross over into the radio-ready genres that could streamline plays for Stress Dolls. The band is fronted by a hard-working, talented musician who has a meaningful and relatable story. O’Donnell is a very pretty woman, she has a great smile, and she has the strength of a true feminist who might punch somebody in the face if they told her “she needed to smile more.”
I’m a music geek to the core. I don’t care about any of the marketable aspects of the artists I feature on Fifteen Minutes of Fame except the music they perform. I don’t care what the artists look like, I don’t care about their “content” on social media or what kind of platform they hold. I care about the music. However, when I hear an artist who I think has the potential to cross over like this, I like to mention their marketable traits so they are aware of what stands out to me because, if it stands out to me, it stands out to other people as well. Maybe it will stand out to an agent or scout who will know how to amplify their marketable “street appeal.”
Stress Dolls have street appeal, but more than that, they are gifted musicians. Queen of No demonstrates a capability to fit in with mainstream music through well-crafted songwriting and quality sound production. They also show a potential to stand out with their fearlessness in experimentation and an original quality to their performance that is all their own. Stress Dolls have tasted progress with chances to tour, work with producers, and even be signed to an independent record label. Should they stay the course and expand on what they’ve already accomplished, they will no doubt find an audience that recognizes the true value of their music.
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Don’t stress out: Go PRESS PLAY!
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