23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Review: Mallrat plays first Glasgow headline show at King Tut's
Mallrat - real name Grace Shaw - though is a name worth knowing, some strong singles and support slots for the likes of Maggie Rogers and Post Malone presaging her critically-acclaimed debut album Butterfly Blue.
It's a sellout at a sweaty King Tut's for what is her first ever headline show in Glasgow, and the production is minimalistic.
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Mallrat got her start in music by searching how to make beats online, and that DIY aesthetic is in evidence here.
Ethereal opener 'My Darling, My Angel' from latest album Light Hit My Face Like a Straight Right sets the mood, the pulsing synths and reverberating vocals filling the room.
"Hello Glasgow," she says, white headphones on. "I'm going to play some more songs, we'll chat later."
Another newbie, 'Pavement', follows and is clearly already a fan favourite before Azealia Banks collaboration 'Surprise Me' gets the biggest reaction of the night so far. The driving bass hits far harder in this setting than on record, albeit simply playing the rapper's verse rather than having someone fill in live is something of an odd choice.
Some almost grungy guitar comes in for 'The Worst Thing I Would Ever Do', arguably the highlight of the set while 'Something for Somebody' evokes Olivia Rodrigo's 'Driver's Licence' with added synths.
The Brisbane native had promised some more chat and she duly delivers, including the tale of how she discovered a new spider, octavius araveus, aged five and named it for the Spider-Man villain.
Introducing 'Defibrillator' she explains: "It's one of my favourite words and I wanted to get it into a lyric. Quite honestly I nailed the brief."
Breakthrough hit 'Groceries' sparks a mass singalong, but there's a dip for 'Virtue' from the new album which is, to be frank, just a little dull.
The latter sees the attention of the crowd wander and it's hard to get it back for follow-up 'Horses', which is a shame.
Mallrat wrote the song for her younger sister, Olivia, who died of an opioid overdose in May last year aged just 21 and its lyrics evoke memories of getting the train home together in Brisbane: "Drive past the station and it looks the same/I wonder how many faces have changed/And if I sat down on platform two/Could that bring back you?".
It's a tender and evocative moment but there's some chatter and laughing from the back of the room which, in a venue of this size, is noticeable.
Things get back on track with the 'Charlie', which morphs from a Lana Del Rey-esque ballad to a hand-clapping chorus which has every person in King Tut's singing along.
She closes with 'Hideaway' from her new album, with no encore despite demands from the Glaswegian crowd for "one more tune".
They'll have to wait until Mallrat returns - and based on this evening it's a safe bet it'll be a bigger venue when she does.
