"Blue Mallee is a world music collective"

“Blue Mallee are worth seeing. This pair are going places, beautifully crafted music and lyrics that evoke a sense of place which the music is set in. Evan’s singing is strong and nuanced to match the feeling imparted. Their stage presence, stories, songs and smiles demonstrated how much they enjoyed playing. We heard stories and songs about their travels in diverse places: Iceland, Ireland, Yass, Bomaderry, Austria and Maroota! These yielding songs such as GODAFOSS. The atmospheric introduction to this song made with guitar, synth and feedback loops. It was interesting to hear an Australian’s response to an Icelandic story, beautifully evoked by the song’s prelude. Evan’s huge effects pedal arrangement made it seem like he was conducting an orchestra with his foot. Punctuated by Niev’s bodhran it made for an evocative piece, infused with rhythms that made me want to dance. Acclaimed by the audience, who demanded an encore, Blue Mallee’s music is made for a bigger stage!”

“Approaching the band as a novice, I saw the word “folk” and was expecting yet another traditional roots-folk album. It is nothing of the kind. In fact, it’s much closer to dreampop than folk, though without the Pop. The band specifically describes this collection of songs as having “melancholy undertones that could only exist in cold climates such as Iceland and Austria.” Honestly, I thought I knew what to expect from these guys, and was almost totally wrong. Fans of folk who don’t mind dreamy, spacey detours should find much to love here. NOTE: RATED TOP ALBUM”

“Blue Mallee’s Godafoss tells a tale of dark winters, ancient gods and deep loss. Gently strummed guitar and a delicate piano create a warm sound before Blue Mallee’s richly textured vocals move in with a softly touching melody as electric guitar adds a rounded sound. Blue Mallee captures heartfelt emotion with wordless singing as the guitar charges with conviction and the low end throbs. The words ring out with intensity as the song’s tide rushes on.”

“If you are looking for great storytelling and beautiful soundtracks within your music, then Shout That Whisper by Blue Mallee is for you!”

“The release contains six songs which are Americana influenced songs. I thought there were inventive things happening with the production and song structure. This is a heartfelt EP. There’s no doubt about that. The songs were well delivered and hit upon key patterns of energy which bring about a slew of emotions.”

“Blue Mallee’s Shout That Whisper combines his strong vocal talent with well-crafted lyrics and a musical background the adds energy, deeper expression and a heartfelt emotional life to the other sonic elements on the EP.”

“Blue Mallee’s Take Me Somewhere Into the Wind comes to life as echoing strings move to establish a gentle pulse below his delicate, expressive voice. He expresses the words he’s written with emotion, over the drifting guitar.This is a simple, stripped down arrangement that showcases the lyrical content of the song. There’s an aching feel to both Blue Mallee’s voice and the musical backing. The harmonica comes in to add its full, reedy voice that is poignant in the way only a harmonica can be.This is a song full of strong imagery and well-crafted words that tells a story of friendship. As it begins, the narrator talks about being taken “somewhere into the wind” as a “page turns” inside his mind. Sometimes words ruin the moment as he explains in the line, “button your lips - your words are ramblin’” and points out that they only just arrived. Full Review: https://discover.hubpages.com/entertainment/Indie-Folk-Single-Review-Take-Me-Somewhere-Into-the-Wind-by-Blue-Mal”

“Blue Mallee’s Rocks and Cattle begins with a warm pulse of flowing sound sliding under the strumming guitar and the plaintive breath of the harmonica. Blue Mallee’s voice is strong and there’s a bluesy feeling to his singing. A trumpet breathes into the song with a caressing, brassy voice as Blue Mallee’s vocals climb and soar. The song has an acoustic warmth to it along with a feeling of brimming energy and deep emotive strength. The drums tick along with a smooth heartbeat as the trumpet raises its embracing voice. The harmonica bends and gives voice to a reedy flow of expressive notes before the song fades out. Twin themes of the isolation of the Australian outback and the vagaries of human relationships fill the words of this song. Full review: https://discover.hubpages.com/entertainment/Alt-Country-Single-Review-Rocks-and-Cattle-by-Blue-Mallee”

“Blue Mallee’s Take Me Somewhere Into The Wind reaffirms his place in the ambient folk genre with subtle determination. The acoustic guitar sounds almost piano like reminiscent of Tori Amos’ Bells For Her. Blue Mallee’s unique and identifiable sound takes you on a musical journey, to ‘somewhere where we meet again’. ‘Like an unfinished song, drop your opinions’ suggests the yearning honesty of the main theme. The harmonica at the coda surprises the listener just when they thought they knew how the song would end, it takes one more twist before landing. This is the kind of song you can have on repeat and still not get enough.”

“The opening harmonica in Blue Mallee's debut single Never Really Coming Back is reminiscent of Springsteen’s Nebraska, bringing an emotional yearning until the vocal kicks in: “Don’t let her fool you with her twisted games” behind a somewhat distorted Hammond. We’re in for a dark ride as the music magically spells out the ominous title: Never Really Coming Back. The distorted Hammond organ goes round in an Ostinato fashion until Blue Mallee’s trusty stomp box lands the driving beat at 2:17 and the harmonica joins in with the thumping force of freight train. A breakdown section at 2:44 heralds the bridge: “broken hearted and left openly sore, so sick and tired of being a trophy on your wall” brings home the whole idea that he’s never coming back for her. As the song fades away over the ‘moonlight seas’ the listener is left in need...of another listen!”

“Blue Mallee continues to ‘work the land and grow’ in his latest offering Rock & Cattle a remastered live recording taken from a 2020 livestream performance. The blues harp and acoustic guitar blend perfectly and could be a distant rural twin to Ryan Adams’ Desire from his Demolition era. Blue Mallee builds the whole song as a crescendo and before you know it we’re riding a wave of great strumming and power with the lines: ‘like an unstoppable storm unleashing it’s rain’, which is exactly what the music portrays in the chord progression and vocal melody. Such an impressive live take make it all the more alluring all the while gaining insight into how consistent and polished his live shows are.”

“Blue Mallee has "a real Aus thing, spacious...yearning".”

“Yesterday I got to hang out with the cool kids at the Northern Beaches Music Festival where I interviewed some fantastic musos including solo artist Evan Guyatt who performs as Blue Mallee. Evan is a multi talented singer songwriter musician who writes his own music and is in demand gigging all over Sydney. Evan also has a great sense of humour so we had a good laugh during the interview in advance of World Laughter Day today!”

“It was the turn of Blue Mallee to deliver his vibe of modern rock, starting with “Buildings With Ledges”. With a multi array of footpedals to illustrate his material Blue Mallee swung into a super vocal tone that enunciated superb lyrics. His foot pedal tango added different spices to his song dynamics. “The percussiveness of his guitar adds to the sound,” said Paul McGowan. I like the aural juxtapositions as they remind me of Powderfinger, or Bernard Fanning’s, material, especially the soaring vocals. Then came “Lettuce”, with the images of lettuces sitting on the couch watching TV. The song has The Drones and Pearl Jam influences, while the distortion pedal heightening The Drones effect, making a hypnotic delivery. Then Johnny G started table drumming, as Gav used the shakers and it became a whirlwind of rhythm pushing Blue Mallee along like an extended jam. It was great fun…I hope we hear Blue Mallee’s sounds at the Society Concert again in the near future.”