Mallrat emphatically announces her new album, ‘Light Hit My Face Like A Straight Right’ out on February 14, 2025, with her latest transportative listen, Horses.
Horses speaks to the time capsule certain landmarks hold, and the sensations they trigger amongst the alternate perspectives that travelling home represents. Remarking on the act of ‘coming’ back to your roots, or ‘going’ backwards in time. Hindsight, reflection, memory poignantly culminating in Mallrat’s voice cracking when she sings “Hey, I’m right here, I look different now.”
In her own words, “I made this song with my friend Alice Ivy. A lot of the lyrics on this song are about going home and how alone that makes me feel. The first verse is describing catching the train home from school with my little sister Olivia. She has passed away since I wrote this song and so it really makes me miss her.”
Threading notes of Hayley Williams to Radiohead, the power of Horses lies in its stark but affective restraint. A mastery of space, gripped by vivid narrative and tender aura, written after a trip back to Brisbane that left Mallrat “feeling like an alien.” While revelling in the intimacy has always laid deep in her sound, Horses’ convergence of minimalism is a distinct elevation for Mallrat.
Co-written/produced with Alice Ivy, who shares “Mallrat is one of the most talented songwriters in the country, and ‘Horses’ is one of my favourite songs I’ve ever been a part of. We wrote ‘Horses’ together at my studio in Melbourne with the doors open to a view of Merri Creek. The lyrics and melodies and everything about ‘Horses’ couldn’t feel more authentic to Grace, it’s just so special. Stoked that it’s out in the world.”
‘Light Hit My Face Like A Straight Right’ is born from a world of magical realism in Australian suburbia. Perpetually influenced by her time growing up in Brisbane – a capital city more closely likened to a big country town than metropolis – Mallrat consistently seeks out (real or imaginary) magic in the otherwise ugly and everyday, a means to understand the people and world around her. For Grace Shaw, the music she loves most captures a feeling or time that words alone don’t do justice.
The record isn’t abstract or tied to didactic stories, ‘Light Hit My Face Like A Straight Right’ is its own inherent being. Twelve songs explore the intangible and mysterious allure of human connection, held together by curious investigations into light. Mallrat’s instinct breaking new artistic ground underpins the record throughout. A bold step into the art of world-building, bolstered by her intuitive songwriting and clever, studied production.
Priming her forthcoming album with Horses, Ray of Light and Hocus Pocus, Mallrat‘s astute balance of the picturesque with the acerbic and knack for unearthing gems from the rubble of human connections sets ‘Light Hit My Face Like A Straight Right’ as an all new cohesive statement for a creative at the top of her game.
Horses IS OUT NOW – BUY / STREAM HERE
‘Light Hit My Face Like A Straight Right’ WILL BE RELEASED ON 14th FEB, 2025 – PRE-SAVE / PRE-ORDER HERE
TOUR DATES
Sat 7 Dec – Rolling Sets Festival – The Entrance, NSW
Sat 14 Dec – Changing Tides Festival – Kiama, NSW
Mon Dec 30 – Great Escape Festival – Nugent, TAS
Tue Dec 31 – NYE On The Hill – South Gippsland, VIC
Tickets available at lilmallrat.com
Thanks to twnty three
