BRENDAN MCMAHON Releases New Album ‘ON THIS FINE OCCASION’

Melbourne singer songwriter Brendan McMahon released his latest album, ‘On This Fine Occasion’ on February 18. The record fuses a variety of genres ranging from rock, pop, country, folk, blues, and Celtic, and his songwriting is both incisive and insightful.

McMahon first discovered his love for music at the age of 10, and later, after spending many years working with covers bands, decided it was time to start writing and recording his own music. Using the moniker ‘Satellite Gods’, and with the intention of forming a band with that name, he released his debut 13 track album, ‘Falling To Earth‘ in March 2015, with the title track released the following year. After realising his creative flair for recording, he immediately released his second album, ‘Marker 7-58‘. Now he’s completed his third album, ‘On This Fine Occasion‘, which is out under his own name.

Brendan has worked with many fine Australian artists including Bob Spencer from The Angels, Peter Maslen (Boom Crash Opera), Wilbur Wilde from Ol’55, Dave Leslie of the Baby Animals, and Danny Spencer and Brett Kingman who’ve both espectively played guitar in Jimmy Barnes’ and James Reyne’s bands. He cites his influences as including Harry Manx, Richard Thompson, Queensryche and John Mellencamp, and the lyrics of his tracks tell a story with inspiration from a wide range of subjects such as simple objects and his travel experiences.



The 11 track album ‘On This Fine Occasion’ has a disctinctive Aussie Rock feel about it from the opening song, ‘Alive‘, with sweet vocals and strong guitar. Second track ‘Hotel Hemmingway‘ is a laid back track with a rather Jimmy Buffett feel, while singing about a hotel in Rio de Janeiro. There’s a great piano bridge between the verse and chorus, it’s a good easy listening song.

Doctor‘ is somewhat more folky, with a Johnny Cash vibe; which is continued with ‘Marker 7-58’ and ‘Gentleman Joe‘. The final track, ‘Home‘ opens with a choir, which gives way to Brendan’s sweet vocals and acoustic guitar, then some fine electric.

Overall the album is a very enjoyable listen and will appeal to most music lovers. Brendan is currently working on more music. For further information about this, other releases or performance dates, check out Brendan McMahon on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as his official website. ‘On This Fine Occasion’ is available on iTunes.

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About the author

Lisa has been writing for over 20 years, starting as the entertainment editor on her university newspaper. Since then she's written for Popwrapped, Maximum Pop, Celebmix, and ListenOnRepeat.

Lisa loves all good music, with particular fondness for Jedward and David Bowie. She's interviewed Edward Grimes (Jedward), Kevin Godley, Trevor Horn, Paul Young, Peter Cox (Go West), Brendan B Brown (Wheatus), Bruce Foxton (The Jam), among many many more. Lisa is also available for freelance writing - please email lisa@essentiallypop.com

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