Album Review: Mama Kin Spender - Golden Magnetic

What began as housemate jam sessions a long time ago in a Melbourne warehouse has finally materialised into something solid from the melodious pairing that is Mama Kin Spender.

Roots and folk chanteuse Mama Kin - aka Danielle Caruana - and production-savvy singer-songwriter Tommy Spender rekindled the creative flame that ignited all those years ago for a handful of shows last year, including a coveted slot at industry conference BIGSOUND. Now they've found time in between their respective projects to pen Golden Magnetic, a rich, textural, at times raucous, at times gentle but stirring collection of stories and fables.

There's no shying away from what the two individual players each bring to the table; Caruana's bone-rattling, primal howl is ever present and Spender's rattling blues vocal perfectly complements it. Beyond the ambling line that opens Water & Fire and within its belting chorus is merely one instance where this union between these soulful singers shines. It's the almost tribal, storytelling aspect to their shared parts that is transporting throughout Golden Magnetic and it strips something that could be overcomplicated by those who are inexperienced or overindulgent back to an album that is earthy, rousing and universal.