Mallrat Hits the 'Pavement'

Mallrat, the musical project of Grace Kathleen Elizabeth Shaw, is no newbie when it comes to live performance.

Since her teenage artistic inception, Shaw has utilized her ethereal onstage presence to highlight her uniqueness within alternative music — blending sounds across genres, from folk to lo-fi electronic and pulling direct influence from greats all the way from Three Six Mafia to SOPHIE.

Though Australia is home for Mallrat, the Brisbane-born songwriter has spent the past decade exploring the globe on tour. This worldly wisdom has resulted in her currently divvying her time between Melbourne and Los Angeles.

At the top of 2025, Mallrat released her sophomore album, Light hit my face like a straight right. Inside its 12 tracks, you’ll find bouncy, bubblegum production on cuts like “Hocus Pocus,” where her laid-back vocals glide on the surface. These quick songs employ breakbeats and beg for head nodding before transitioning effortlessly into acoustic ballads like “Horses,” the album’s closer. The softness of her singing in the album seems to stem from a sense of vulnerability and trepidation and the urgency in her words juxtaposes the cool confidence throughout the LP.

Mallrat took the record on tour beginning in September. The 30-plus stops were a special set for the seasoned performer, given the success of Light hit my face. Aside from her own headlining stints, throughout her career she’s filled opener slots for names like Kylie Minogue and MARINA. The Aussie has made the road her home, with North American “Pavement” as her latest lease.

Photography: Rachel Bennett