- Brisbane emcee Mallrat has been making waves since her epic first single Suicide Blonde landed on Soundcloud last year. Now the release of her debut EP, Uninvited proves all the hype has definitely been worth it. Amazingly, not only is Mallrat aka Grace Shaw only seventeen-years-old, but she’s only been writing music for a bit over a year. Her fresh and vibrant outlook on the most kitsch and mundane of everyday events makes for an interesting and at times, surprising listen. Her lyrics are cutting and insightful, a feat all the more impressive when you remember her relative youth. The six-track EP is filled with simple melodies, quirky DIY beats, paradoxically awesome production and strong vocals.

Uninvited opens with Tokyo Drift, produced by Rey Reel. The song has quite a different sound to the rest of the album, it actually sounds a lot like some of the more recent sounds British pop behemoth, Lily Allen has been producing of late. Inside Voices picks up the pace, again a simple, stripped back beat and synth melody gives Mallrat’s vocals space to take centre stage. On the title track Mallrat is bemoaning the day when her school blocked access to Spotify on their wifi. Yes, Ms Shaw is still writing about high school because for her that was her life less than a year ago. It’s a stand out track, particularly Mallrat’s vocals in the pre-chorus, she sings a lot more on these more recent songs than in some of her early singles. There’s no heavy-handed production, just some great beats and a catchy dance hook in the chorus.

Further into the EP we get Sunglasses and Suicide Blonde, both produced by Melbourne’s Tigerilla who is a frequent collaborator with Mallrat and her oft-cited role model, Aussie rapper Allday. Sunglasses is built over a simple beat with a repetitive chorus line that will still be going around in your head long after the two-and-a-half minutes are over. Mallrat’s first single, Suicide Blonde is a faster-paced ode to a blonde acquaintance who used to be a model and actress and was actually in the music video for INXS’ own Suicide Blonde, but now struggles with mental illness. The EP is rounded out with one of the only as-yet unreleased tracks, For Real, which again sees Mallrat singing a lot more, though her clever lyrics and rhymes are just as cutting.

For a debut effort, it’s pretty hard to fault Uninvited, and that’s before you even consider how impressive it is that Grace Shaw is so young. Undoubtedly this is only the start for her moniker Mallrat: as she plays more live shows and finds herself on bigger and bigger festival lineups it’s only likely to to be up from here. Her lyrics are witty and clever, the beats are simple yet effective and her vocal style is unlike anything any other female artist is doing in the country right now. Better get on board this hype train now or else get left behind, because Mallrat doesn’t seem like she’s going to be staying in the one place for very long.

- Emily Strong.