Mardi Lumsden

Four Stars

BRISBANE songstress Mardi Lumsden is like the stray kitten who turns up on your doorstep unannounced.

Too cute to ignore, you usher it into your life with the briefest intentions: a saucer of milk … a cursory, inquisitive listen. Slowly but surely with repeated exposure, it becomes so familiar it's hard to remember a time before your paths crossed.

And so it goes with Lumsden's second EP Wherever You Go, There You Are, a bewitching collection of taut alt-folk anthems.

Understated subtlety abounds across this five-track collection - a sweet, curling vocal melody, cheeky lyric or swollen major chord - all delivered with such a delicate touch, Lumsden may not even know it's her musical bulwark. The banjo-backed, country twang of the title track is all heart, but it's Lumsden's Karen Carpenter, dew-eyed vocal that gives it soul.

Pieces of the story is a gorgeous gem, whispered romanticism building in tempo and rolled up in lyrics like "just hold my hand and we'll be, the best versions of ourselves we can be".

Brisbane producer Magoo proves a deft touch on Ravel/Unravel, delivering an arrangement reminiscent of My Friend the Chocolate Cake at their finest.


In the wrong hands, Classified (WVTM) could be too cute, but Lumsden and husband/bandmate Andrew Pennay nail their quaint look at finding love through the classified pages.

It's easy to see why it won Lumsden best folk song in the 2010 Qsong Awards. Let's hope she uses her winnings to record an album.
- The Courier Mail (ECT) 2-3 October, 2010

Mardi Lumsden is as pretty, ethereal, eccentric and sanguine as the lilting lyrics and bell-like vocals of her alt-folk songs. She is gentle and soulful, unreasonably generous and unashamedly happy. There is honestly no darkness in this girl. The further you delve into her pretty eyes, the brighter the blinding light. Perfectly disheveled wispy locks frame her porcelain skin and doll-like face, and despite her cute collection of colourful dresses, it is rare to catch Mardi’s little feet clad in anything more glamorous than her favourite pair of sparkly cons. She so perfectly embodies the whimsical grunginess of a Brisbane songstress.

Mardi’s band, Mardi Lumsden and the Rising Seas, artfully combines an eclectic mix of oft-overlooked instruments - such as the banjo, toy piano, slide guitar, mandolin, ‘manjo’, double bass and glockenspiel - with Mardi’s sweet voice and almost nauseatingly sweet, but miraculously sincere, lyrics. The band sounds like an incarnation of the melodic beat of Mardi’s heart; soft and tinkling with a grounded country twang, blissfully innocent lyrics, and rich, warm harmonies.

Despite recently winning the Q Song Award, receiving innumerable glowing reviews, and having her songs played on Triple J and Rage, Mardi’s endearingly shy smile remains firmly affixed. Her humility is enviable, as is her unrelenting generosity.

Mardi cares for her band like she does her ginger puppy Lulu, and respects and supports the Brisbane music scene with unfailing energy. Mardi can be found in the front row of almost any Brisbane gig, always armed with a battery of heartfelt compliments and wide-eyed wonder.

Despite her incredibly grueling day job as Editor in Chief of Journey Magazine, she also helps to promote the Brisbane scene through her weekly ABC Radio spot, Saturday Tracks with Mardi Lumsden. She is committed.

Mardi Lumsden and the Rising Seas have just released a film clip for the headlining track of their most recently released EP, ‘Wherever you go there you are’. It is a little nostalgic tale of heartache, beautifully shot in the hinterland of Byron Bay. Almost as gorgeous as Mardi herself.
- www.theurbanlist.com

Tuesday 11 August, 2010

Mardi Lumsden obviously wears her heart on her (CD) sleeve and pens lyrics that are worth paying heed to if you need some help in the romance department … these arrangements are lovingly crafted.
- Inpress By Bryget Chrisfield

Tuesday 29 June, 2010

Brisbane folk five-piece release second EP

This is the second EP for alternate folk five-piece Mardi Lumsden & The Rising Seas, recorded in west Brisbane by well-known producer Magoo.
Traditional folk sounds are combined with polished studio enhancements and Lumsden’s vocals are ethereal and sweet.
Pieces Of The Story has distinct and sticky articulation coupled with simple and honest lyrics.
The album gravitates around Lumsden’s vocals with very minimalistic instrumentals.
Classified (WVTM) is a cute song, reinforcing the romantic ‘boy meets girl’ archetype.
The tracks are innocent, endearing but also naive, reminiscent of the days where Santa was real and babies came from the stalk.
Wherever You Go. There You Are is simple, easy to listen to and great for a bit of childhood nostalgia.
- Rave (2010) By Chelsea Heaney

Tuesday 11 August, 2010

Mardi Lumsden & the Rising Seas have delivered one of our favourite titles of the year: Wherever you go, there you are.
The EP is mighty fine too, reminding Howzat! of Aimee Mann, which is a beautiful thing.
(Pieces of the Story was on Howzat! play list two weeks in a row.) - Impress (Howzat!) By Jeff Jenkins

Friday 13 August, 2010

"Sparkling alt-folk gems."
- The Age (EG) By Rohan Trollope

Life as a cartoon music box

Going Is Finding is a coming-of-age album. It talks about life experiences with all the innocence and playfulness of a young child.

The music box-like plinking of the guitars and chimes contrast well with the mature, sorrowful voice of Mardi Lumsden, and along with instruments like the glockenspiel, banjo and melodica, the album is given cartoon-like qualities.

The rocked up track of You’re The Reason sports Joni Mitchell-like phrasing and is the only song on the album with a drum beat, however distant.

Going Is Finding is a cute little package of folk, acoustic and pop telling life stories through the eyes of a child, but with the voice of a woman.

By Brigitte Short


- Rave Magazine (July 2007)

I felt very honoured to be presented with Mardi Lumsden’s debut album, Going Is Finding, even before listening to it.

Knowing Mardi only as a talented writer, I was stunned when I first looked down at the quaint and enchanting CD cover I held in my hands.

The next day, I popped the CD into the player of my rental car and was surprised to find that listening to Mardi’s sweet, soothing voice sing such heartfelt lyrics and melodies left me relaxed and refreshed before my first appointment for the day.

My father, a showbiz veteran, was at my home recently and I was playing Mardi’s album in the background. His ears pricked up and he asked who the artist was.

I told him and he listened intently for the next few songs before concluding that the sound was “unique” and she had “something special that was previously untapped in the current market”.

For my Father, this is the highest form of praise.

In fact, everyone that has come over to my house and heard the album has commented on its freshness.

Other words that have been bandied about include warm, contemporary and calming. I haven’t had the CD out of my player since I bought my copy, curious as to what the next person to hear it may feel

With only five tracks, the CD leaves you wishing for more but is excellent value for under $15.

The songs are innocent and complex at the same time and I felt myself swinging between emotions quite fluidly, which is a mean feat for any songwriter to achieve.

Head down to Rockinghorse Records in Brisbane or Polyester Records, Fitzroy (Melbourne) to grab a copy.

Or to hear a sample of Mardi’s work, visit her MySpace page, www.myspace.com/mardilumsdenmusic.

This may also be a terrific place to pick up a copy if you aren’t fortunate enough to live in the Brisbane or Melbourne area. - www.thetransitlounge.com.au

The Zoo has never felt quite so intimate prior to hosting Chrysalis – the all-local 4ZzZ/Eco Radio fundraiser with an environmental theme...

Shortly after, the diminutive, bee antennae-wearing Mardi Lumsden leads her band The Rising Seas onstage.

Performing a variety of whimsical folky numbers, Mardi looks every bit the 'nerdy cousin', yet she's able to draw attention to her bespectacled persona while her voice bears an innocent, childlike quality, assisted by the band's instrument-switching skills.

DENIS SEMCHENKO - Rave Magazine

Mardi Lumdsen, who normally plays with her band, the Rising Seas, is a sanguine and superb songbird.

Her voice has a delightful, whimsical lilt, as do her lyrics, which are about intimate, urbane experiences of late twenty-somethings, like trying to be noticed by someone you admire by catching their bus, and finding love through the classifieds: “WVTM: with view to marriage.”

The audience laughs.

Her songs would complement, as a soundtrack, any Nick Earls or Rebecca Sparrow books (or cloud gazing from a hilltop picnic on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

http://lifemusicmedia.com/?p=3259
- lifemusicmedia.com