Mallrat’s New Single ‘Rockstar’ Is A Serious Contender For Song Of The Year

After scoring massive success in 2019 with tracks like ‘Charlie’ and ‘Drive Me Round’, Brissy favourite Mallrat has returned with a scuzzy new single ‘Rockstar’.

Heavily inspired by ’90s acts like Mazzy Star and early Avril Lavigne, the track is a big step forward for the 22-year-old Grace Shaw, who wrote and recorded the track with Tommy English (who’s worked with Carly Rae Jepsen and Kacey Musgraves) in her Los Angeles home.

Shaw also namechecks fellow Brisbane dwellers Violent Soho as inspiration for the track, in particular their acclaimed album Hungry Ghost. 

“All through my teens (and obviously still) I loved the early Violent Soho albums self-titled and Hungry Ghost – those two albums I’ve listened to a lot and I think that’s seeped its way into the track,” she says of ‘Rockstar’.

“A lot of the songs I’ve been writing lately have been me realising my power,” she explains. “I wrote the chorus first, it has a completely different attitude on its own, but when you listen in the context of the verses and the really aggressive guitar outro it completely flips the perspective of everything. When I wrote the rest of the song a year later, I was feeling a lot more sure of myself.

“It’s interesting how time can reframe things that you still think and are still true but just give them a whole new house to sit in. I’ve always thought of myself a whisper singer and not even a very good singer, but when I listen to the chorus of ‘Rockstar’ it reminds me that I have more range than I probably even give myself credit for.”

It’s an assertive step forward from one of Australia’s most beloved acts — and it’s a serious contender for the biggest local release of the year. Get around it below.