Just discovered Melbourne, Australia singer-songwriter Brendan McMahon and his 5-track EP with his band Satellite Gods, Universalist.

A few tracks on the EP really stand out to me. “Marker 7-58,” a mandolin-infused piece that was also the name of his previous full length album release, and “Mother.”

“Marker 7-58” is grounded in his love of the nature park reserve that surrounded the studio in Victoria where he records.

The poignant and passionate piano driven track “Mother,” is a tribute he wrote on behalf of himself and his three sisters, after a night outside of his home reminiscing with his guitar and a beer.

She passed away many years ago, but thinking about her triggered all of this fresh emotion that poured out. It’s very personal yet universal, written really for anyone who has lost their mom.

True to Brendan’s eclectic influences as a songwriter, the other tracks on the EP find him exploring other facets of his artistry. The rollicking pop/rocker “Hotel Hemmingway” was inspired by a trip to Havana, where he explored the famous hote where Ernest Hemingway stayed and wrote in the years before he committed suicide, and includes lyrics like, “Tell me the stories from your life…the dreams you left behind…the pain that took your life.”

Brendan and his band have a mission to record and release five albums in five years, and it seems like they are sticking true to this.

Listen to Mother here: