SUBTLE GRANDEUR

February 28, 2025

Stella Cain

STELLA CAIN
‘DOG’

Speaking to Walyalup/Fremantle singer songwriter, Stella Cain, about her second single, ‘Dog’, I was surprised to learn that, until this year she’d never previously released any of her music.

“I have recorded stuff before, but never released it,” said Cain. “The single in January (‘River’), that was my first ever single and this one is my second.”

‘Dog’ is so achingly simple and understated it’s not until you’re a few listens in that the subtle grandeur of the songwriting and production fully reveal themselves.

I couldn’t help but ask why.

“I listen back to them (previous recordings),” Cain said, “and I think they’re amazing. I think I was just really self-critical, which I still am. I mustn’t have been ready and it must be the time now. I think it’s probably being a bit older and thinking that I don’t want to be in the way of myself. I think they’re beautiful songs and I have also been doing it for a long time, singing. I felt like I had to just really kind of almost push myself into it.

“I feel a bit like, ‘Go girl!’ Once you’re there doing it, it’s just not as scary as you think it’s going to be, not as out of your depth as you think it’s going to be.

“We’re just taught to be so hyper critical of ourselves and I think that just kind of filters into all the other aspects of our lives. People are out there doing things with bravery all the time — in particular men are — so why the fuck shouldn’t we?”

The ‘we’ Cain is talking about is women, the ones doing the teaching are men. Through her songs and performances, Cain has always been the epitome of the fearless and open-hearted female performer, so it’s a surprise, but not surprising at all, that she’s found herself holding back in what remains a male dominated industry.

We can mourn the loss of Cain’s earlier works or, perhaps we can anticipate their future release. If ‘Dog’ is anything to go by, they’ll be well worth the wait.

‘Dog’ is so achingly simple and understated it’s not until you’re a few listens in that the subtle grandeur of the songwriting and production fully reveal themselves.

As a lyricist, Cain can deliver disses like, I wish we could collect all those little kisses / And take them back to give to someone new / ‘Cos they were clearly wasted on shallowness and promises / But, baby, I’ll end up better than you, and make them sound like a loving embrace. It’s something about Cain’s languid vocal delivery and the sparse arrangement that lulls you into believing you’re safe and, despite ‘Dog’ being a bitter breakup song, you are. Cain is the sort of artist who can make anything feel OK, give you hope and restore your peace and sense of self.

And then there’s the lyrical deftness of lines like, Pull her in and promise her the world, which is so wonderfully open ended it could be shelter or suffering — or both simultaneously — depending on when you’re listening and what’s been happening for you.

‘Dog’ is Cain’s announcement to the world that she is a lyricist of note, a singer who could take you anywhere depending on her focus, and a songwriter whose hallmark is her freshness and clarity along with a strong undercurrent of confidence that defies the relative brevity of her career to date.

Speaking about writing and recording ‘Dog’, Cain said, “I just picture someone going through a breakup being able to really relate and sing it and feel empowered by it. If you focus on yourself and stay in your truth, in your body, then the rest will figure itself out. The idea is that if someone hasn’t treated you well, the karma of that will sort things out.

“It’s quite a different approach for me this single,” said Cain, talking about the recording and production, “more pop vibes balancing the songwriter stuff. It was the song me and Liv (Gavranich, producer) recorded first together, interestingly enough, even though it’s sort of maybe the least like the other songs.”

Cain’s collaboration in the studio with Gavranich, who records music as St. South, is part of the reason ‘Dog’ and the other songs recorded in these sessions are now seeing the light of day.

“It’s been really interesting for me collaborating with Liv,” Cain said. “All my experiences before have been in studios collaborating with men and all the bands I’ve been in have been with men as well, and it’s been nice to flip that experience and have someone who’s sitting on the other end listening to your voice and being really encouraging. It really changed my experience, it was very good for me as I need a bit of positive feedback.

“It’s your voice,” said Cain, getting to the heart of the matter. “It’s not like an instrument, it’s literally what you use every day to talk to people. It’s quite vulnerable.”

Vulnerability is the essence of what Cain does as a singer and songwriter. Her voice is her primary instrument and everything else is about letting her distinctively delicate/strong vocals shine through.

Looking ahead to the release of her EP, Roddy, which was named after her grandmother, Cain said, “I really wanted it to be about the piano and vocals, which is what she taught me growing up. I didn’t want too much other stuff going on. I wanted them to be songs that she would have listened to in her kitchen, you know, on her little radio.”

If ‘Dog’ is the part that speaks to the whole, mission accomplished, and in the making, here is a song the world can weave into its heart with the expectation of more to come.