On first impressions, some things on Kate Martin's debut record become immediately obvious. One of them being, its quite puzzling as to how a teenager coming from the relatively unknown Townsville could produce such a product. It almost sounds like Synthetic Shoes, Leather Boots is her fourth or fifth album, evident with the matured form of songwriting, creative arrangements and some delicate production values and techniques. Opening song "Lua" is beautifully sung and contains a highly catchy chorus that might sit nicely as a summer advertisement theme song, probably because it has that same addictiveness you’d find in a Feist, Sarah Blasko or New Buffalo tune.

"Let Your Troubles Sleep", is a dreamy little number that features ghostly backing harmonies. Harmonies you’ll notice seem to subtly squeeze their way into each song - listen carefully on this one and you can hear all sorts of crickets, and children’s percussion instruments. There’s a sort of rewarding quality to the record, as all the songs aren’t ultimately as catchy as the opener. The more effort you put into the listening, the more things you’ll find. As it turns out, Martin isn’t just a grand singer and songwriter; she’s also an amazing guitarist. Check out the finger-picking on "Shaking in the Wings", "Please and Thank You" or the Spanish-esque runs in "Southern Rain" - they’re hiding behind all of the echoes, piano arrangements and tambourine, but listen hard enough and you’ll hear them, trust me. Another little hidden treasure on "Southern Rain" is the last verse, which seems to have some sort of robotic manipulator singing some of the words.

This isn’t your typical Australian female acoustic singer-songwriter, and you can tell there has been a lot of experimentation inside the Sydney studio where it was recorded. Check out the womb-like qualities of the four-line song "The Fall" for an example of being ballsy and uncommercial yet completely appropriate. There are even some appearances by multi-instrumentalist Joseph Ireland a member of another well-known Townsville band, The Middle East, who provides some backing vocals and some distinctive banjo playing on "Autumn Swirl".

While the should-be singles like "Lua" and "Shaking in the Wings" are definitely highlights, it’s the other songs that require more attention that might have longer lasting appeal. The simplistic yet well-placed closer "Sunflower" is a nice little conclusion to the satisfying ten-track album, which I guess feels like a slowly erupting volcano of melodies. As far as first albums go, especially by someone so young, this should fill listeners with nothing but excitement with its uniqueness and most importantly it catchiness and relaxing qualities. It could be the perfect little album for a rainy Sunday afternoon, for fans of Feist, Sarah Blasko, Holly Throsby and New Buffalo – look no further for this hot new talent.

Review Score: 8/10

The album is out now through Outer Records.