1 2 3 4 5

out now via Inertia

I saw this young guy playing on ABC’s Sunday Arts and he impressed with his countrified ballads, troubadour looks and mature voice. His sound falls somewhere between Ryan Adams, Elvis Perkins and many of the other Americana artists that are melding country, folk and rock with great honest songwriting. Mclaren manages to produce an effortless sound like those rolling countrified-Beatles songs that Wilco do so well. The songs sound like you’ve heard them somewhere before, though its not a display of obvious mimicry. The surprise is that he is so young, 18, to be writing such assured songs. Namedropping the album Marquee Moon and singer Woody Guthrie is a giveaway as to his formative influences,  not in a bad way. As long as he sticks to honest music, finds and keeps some great musicians and tours strongly he could mature into a classic Australian storyteller. As an introduction to a young singer/songwriter this is an exceptionally strong calling card.