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Rin McArdle is a singer songwriter who was born into the punk / folk music scene of Adelaide. Having made the big move to Sydney and developing her own sound, McArdle keeps her style unique and fresh by intertwining sounds from multiple genres such as RnB and soul. Her debut EP Lefty Lou & the Hamley Street Blues features five songs written by McArdle about her time living on Hamley Street, referenced in the EP’s title. Produced with Chris Collins from Sydney band Tigertown, it is an honest and emotionally driven journey which ventures an alternate soul styled vibe.
An ode to facing down dejection and everyday struggles, Lefty Lou & the Hamley Street Blues from Rin McArdle is a great blend of folk and blues.
The first track featured on the EP is Stay on the Ground, a somewhat dejected, electro-folk inspired dream. The reverb on McArdle’s croaky yet effortless vocals combines with the dragging tempo to create hypnotic, lyrical ooze. The intriguing lyrics “Take off your wings and let me see / Stay on the ground with me” become a trance-like chant, adding to the eerily calming undertones. The counter melody played by the keyboard succeeds in lightening the atmosphere with a relieving delicate and bright sound.
The song builds and grows with the light, fast paced tinkering on the high hat building a sense of excitement despite the drooling tempo, and couples with the dramatically accented bass drum to add a subtle yet significant kick. A young German producer MVCA remixed McArdle’s track to create a more upbeat, dance version, which premiered on Music Affair in Europe with compliments from McArdle herself.
Sirens is arguably McArdle’s most successful track from the EP, with over 21 thousand plays on SoundCloud. McArdle is very much exposed and raw in the opening bars of the song, an almost acapella opening accompanied only by sustained piano cords. McArdle’s tone continues to be transparent and honest, the seesawing vocal line plunging low and soulful and then straight back up to tip-toe the line of a soft falsetto. Choir styled, airy backing vocals support McArdle’s strong vocal performance throughout the song – much more powerful than that of Stay on the Ground. Sirens will leave you bopping and empowered by its sharp-cutting, punchy chorus by the second half of the track where the groove really begins to take off.
White Staircase whilst having a similar sound to the other tracks on the EP uniquely features a prominent snare drum and highly affective and authentic stomping and clapping in selected sections. McArdle distinctly accents her words in this track, perhaps slipping back to her formerly recognised Australian accent which diminished slightly with her invested venture into soul music. This was the first track from the EP which McArdle recorded a music video for, which shows snippets of the recording process in the studio, McArdle not only singing but playing the drums for the track and looking over the post-production and editing processes.
Lefty Lou & the Hamley Street Blues is a calming and easy listening collection of soulful, folk inspired songs which detail Rin McArdle’s experiences and struggles whilst living in Adelaide, and makes for a great debut EP for the up and coming singer songwriter.
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