Mallrat deconstructs genres and models a new pop sound

Sitting comfortably between pop, electro, and hip-hop, Australia’s Mallrat delivers a whimsical, ephemeral record. Light hit my face like a straight right by the kickboxing and songwriting Grace Shaw, aka Mallrat, punches through walled genre gardens and hits the neural spot between DIY vibe and broader appeal.

In ten full-fledged tracks (and two interludes), Mallrat conveys a kaleidoscopic display remaining mostly in a subdued, bedroom-styled production, ever so often floating away into a dream state. The light takes on centre stage as more than a physical phenomenon but as a protagonist, an embodiment of magical moments in a very ordinary life. «There’s something holy about those moments, you know, like the angelic choir in cartoons or whatever,» Mallrat states. «It’s the unexpectedness of it, the suddenness.»

We explore electronic escalation as the extreme autotune in Ray of Light, Memphis hip-hop influences most evident in Hocus Pocus and Pavement, and even roam in rock and folk territory with The Worst Thing I Would Ever Do and Horses.

Slow Burning

What sounds like an utterly repelling journey of stylistic breaks actually works with a refined tracklist. The album slowly builds momentum and remains relaxed at first by indulging in balladesque tracks.

Unfortunately, two of those, Something for Somebody and Defibrillator, are the weakest entries of this record. Defibrillator falls behind with its slowly waning pop ballad outfit. Too much cheese, too generic despite the perfectly placed defibrillator samples.

However, in between sits—thankfully—one of the strongest: Virtue is a minimalistic work of haunting beauty.

Dance Phase

With the interlude, The Light Streams In And Hits My Face, Mallrats transitions into the danceable phase. Hocus Pocus and Hideaway push the gas.

Especially Hideaway is another highlight with its vibrant and flickering garage groove juxtaposed by Mallrat’s dreamy and flowing vocals.

Turning the electronic escalation to eleven, Love Songs / Heart Strings and Ray of Light are the most extreme frays of Mallrat’s sonic universe—shooting far off from suburban reality into the galaxy.

Grounding

After this extraterrestrial experience, we are grounded again, earthbound, with the surprisingly rocky anthem, The Worst Thing I Would Ever Do. The transition to this new sound is a tad disruptive, but I can accept it with such a convincing track. And with Horses, we’re strolling down a folky road.

With Light hit my face like a straight right, Mallrat delivers a dense and more concise artistic vision—a development from the ideas outlined in her 2022 debut Butterfly Blue.

Moreover, the record perfectly captures the ongoing deconstruction of genres—or, if you wanna see it the other way around, pop’s embrace of a multitude of sonic signatures.

You can hear traces of Lana Del Rey’s stylised sound, SOPHIE-shaped hyperpop outlines, Memphis-based flavours like Three 6 Mafia, and Fleet Foxes’ earthy folk—all rounded up by Mallrat and moulded into a record that, against all odds, has its own and consistent feel.

If pop music sounds like this, it’s worth your consideration.

Mallrat – Light hit my face like a straight right

Release: 14/02/2025

1. My Darling, My Angel
2. Pavement
3. Something for Somebody
4. Virtue
5. Defibrillator
6. The Light Streams in and Hits My Face
7. Hocus Pocus
8. Hideaway
9. Love Songs / Heart Strings
10. Ray of Light
11. The Worst Thing I Would Ever Do
12. Horses