Mallrat - Light Hit My Face Like a Straight Right

Light Hit My Face Like a Straight Right is the bold and expansive sophomore album from Mallrat, pressed on ultra clear 180-gram vinyl and packaged with an insert. In this new chapter, the Brisbane-born, LA-based songwriter and producer (Grace Shaw) leans into a metaphysical lens, treating light not just as a physical phenomenon but as a moment of revelation. Set against a backdrop of expressive breakbeats and dance-driven production, the album’s twelve tracks explore the elusive pull of human connection, threaded together by Mallrat’s ongoing fascination with light as its guiding concept.

Reuniting with Butterfly Blue collaborators Styalz Fuego and Alice Ivy, and working with indie electronic producers Chrome Sparks and Casey MQ, Mallrat shapes a misty, kinetic soundscape that pushes her pop instincts into fresh terrain. High points include the garage-inflected rush of Hideaway, the sleek pulse of Pavement with its chopped vocal sample from DJ Zirk’s Born 2 Lose, and Hocus Pocus, which uses another fragment of the same sample to craft a shimmering, dancefloor-ready spell. The album reaches a gentle emotional peak on Horses, written after a return home to Brisbane and deepened by personal loss. Its minimal arrangement, open space, and the crack in Shaw’s voice as she sings “Hey, I’m right here, I look different now” create one of her most affecting recordings.

After years of refining her signature style and earning acclaim from the New York Times, Billboard, Teen Vogue, NPR, and more, Mallrat steps fully into world-building on Light Hit My Face Like a Straight Right. It’s a confident, immersive record that showcases her intuitive songwriting and sharp, evolving production sensibilities.