Stress Dolls takes us back to 2020 with the single “Close Enough,” which was released on March 15, along with her EP of the same name. “Close Enough” serves as the opening track, showcasing an emotional vulnerability tied to the COVID-19 pandemic — specifically, the period of lockdown. Filled with isolation, the lyrics explore longing and romantic attachment when you’re fighting to stay close to someone, but during the height of a global pandemic, it never seems to be enough.
“I wrote “Close Enough” in the midst of the pandemic, a period where I didn’t see some of the people who mattered most to me for weeks at a time. On a subconscious level I think that inspired the lyrics in the chorus about being “close enough” to someone, but the other half was me thinking about the process of falling in love, and how you can be so wrapped up in another person that, no matter how physically and emotionally close you are to them (“even if you were a part of me/ even if you were alive in me”), it doesn’t feel like enough to express how you feel.”
The song’s overall sentiment resonates with the struggles of physical distance, somewhat equating to emotional distance, which intensified these feelings of longing and separation in a declaration of “I can’t keep running.”
“Close Enough” was produced by Jim Wirt, whose work spans Fiona Apple, Something Corporate, Jack’s Mannequin and Incubus. He also produced her recent singles “Body” and “Ghostwriter,” also featured on the Close Enough EP.
Stress Dolls is the moniker of Chelsea O’Donnell, an artist from Buffalo, N.Y., who initially played music in Western New York in 2013. After a name change, the formation and dissolution of a band and health issues leading to a surgery, O’Donnell began as an independent artist. Now, with a record deal, O’Donnell’s “Close Enough” is the 4th single from her upcoming album, Queen of No, set for release in May.
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