Live Review: Mitchell Martin at the Ellington

20 year old Mitchell Martin has made a name for himself across the south west, and he made a solid case for attention here in Perth on the 25th of July at the Ellington Jazz Club.

We'll start with the support act, though (even though they played later in the evening). Belgrade, one of the most promising young Perth acts, delivered a typically tight set. They treated those who stayed to a handful of new songs, plus tracks from their debut EP Fancy Couch and a couple of covers ('Roxanne' - The Police and 'California Dreamin'' - The Mamas & The Papas). Their gorgeous harmonies were more than enough to make up for the odd technical difficulty.

The main event also put on quite a serviceable set. Mitchell Martin name-dropped Ed Sheeran (and covered the ubiquitous 'Shape of You'), and the influence was certainly strong, from the loop-pedalled performance to the lyrics on his debut album Into the Light. He also has a similar knack for writing catchy melodies, even eliciting the odd singalong or two.

His studies at WAAPA have also paid off. Martin's arrangements demonstrated great professionalism, keeping everything clean despite juggling many things at once. His guitar work was also an impressive feature, exemplified by the Ben Howard-esque fingerpicking on 'Holding On'. Overall, his set went down very nicely; a good way to down some pizza, for sure.