“David Western’s songs draw you in so close you feel like you are sitting next to him, and you are reassured by his presence. Honest and preceptive, a true songwriter on the rise, well worthy of a repeated listen.” – Henry Wagons, Double J
“David is one of my favourite Australian musicians. He is a sharp, unique songwriter, a beautiful guitarist and a real musician’s musician. I always look forward to David’s releases for songwriting inspiration.” – Julia Jacklin
“Country Victoria has spawned a gifted singer-songwriter in the form of David M. Western. His indie-folk-rock exhibits charmed musicianship, and he has an uncanny ability to write songs which make you pay attention to what he has to say.”
– The Au Review
“Honest, slightly quirky and stripped-back alt folk meets laidback indie rock as Western’s lyrics hark back to classic songwriters of yesteryear” – Scenestr
Artist: David M. Western
EP Title: Child Mind
Release Date: Friday 24 June
Label: Independent / Believe
Cherished Melbourne singer songwriter David M. Western is thrilled to finally unearth the entirety of his long-awaited debut album Child Mind. Trickling out a string of equally arresting singles since 2020 including album icebreaker ‘Instant Life’, tongue-in-cheek follow up ‘Take Your Opportunities’, the Springsteen and Orbison inspired ‘Blue Eyes Red’, and recent album opener and namesake ‘Child Mind’, David M. Western has built a dedicated cult following with his earnest interrogations of the mundane, the unusual, the tragic and the beautiful. His songs have been added to 2SER, SYN FM and Aussie Music Weekly rotation, with premieres on both Triple J and Double J nationally. In the midst of a month-long Melbourne residency David is stoked to present his debut body of work and announce an upcoming intimate launch show at beloved Melbourne venue The Old Bar this August.
Things were silent in David Western’s home growing up – no one around for miles. The tag ‘weird’ slapped onto him early on by friends and enemies alike. If there ever was a sound fuelling the fledgling artist within David’s spirit it was the endless stream of all time great songwriters being pressed into his subconscious by his father. These songs David would recall word for word some twenty years later having not heard that music since those early years. The influence of whom can be heard throughout Child Mind—that of John Prine, Bob Dylan, Gillian Welch…
Into his teen years David would be captivated by strange and illegally sourced bootlegs of Elliott Smith and sub-pop culture television, shaping his view of the world, humour and perspective. High school was never any help. With few friends and personal influences, the autodidactic David scrapbooked his view of art and humanity entirely from the boundless parameters of his imagination and cared not for what he thought the world may expect of him, for of that world he knew nothing. Child Mind disassembles and reconstructs these memories into a transfixing microcosm birthed from fleeting nostalgia and the abrupt lucidity of adulthood. The result is as captivating as it is sobering, cementing its place as a frontrunner for the most intriguing indie folk release of the year.
Now David lives in Melbourne Australia, is in his late twenties and is what many consider to be the artists’ artist. A proficient guitarist and accomplished songwriter, he has supported the likes of fellow Aussie greats Julia Jacklin, Spacey Jane, Gabriella Cohen and Asha Jeffries among others. David has no intention of being ‘found’ – in fact he plans to always be that lost, strange boy emerging from the mud of Gunditjmara country that bred him. It may be interesting to hear what he has to say before he returns to the soil that concocted this strange, ethereal poet. Join David M. Western as he launches the Child Mind project with special guests Thursday 18 August at The Old Bar, Fitzroy.
Child Mind Track Listing
1. Child Mind
2. All For All
3. Fool I Know
4. Who’s In Control
5. Take Your Opportunities
6. Blue Eyes Red
7. Water Tank
8. Instant Life
9. Tissue Box Blues
Child Mind is out now via Believe
Child Mind Credits
Written by David Western
Produced by Joe Orton, David Western, Alex O’Gorman
Recorded, Engineered & Mixed by Alex O’Gorman @ Purple Wayne Studios, Collingwood, Vic, Australia
Mastered by Lachlan Carrick
Child Mind Album Launch Shows
Thursday 18 August
The Old Bar, Fitzroy
Doors: 8pm
Saturday 2 July
Major Toms, Kyneton
Saturday 9 July
Tanswells Hotel, Beechworth
Support from Annie Rose Maloney
8:30pm
Tickets $10 via Humanitx
Sunday 7 August
Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine
Support from Jim Lawrie
2pm