NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: The McClymonts
By Bob Doerschuk
© 2012 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
From the moment Brooke, Sam and Mollie McClymont strode onto the stage at the CMA Global Artist Party, kicking off the 2010 CMA Music Festival, they owned the venue. Rocking hard, playing to the balcony at The Stage on Broadway, joining their voices in a tight, high-impact blend, they showed why they were already stars back home in Australia.
That performance was followed in August with their U.S. debut release, Wrapped Up Good, on BSM Music. With 11 of its 12 tracks written or co-written by one or more McClymont, they concoct sharp hooks and well-crafted lyrics. “A Woman Is a Flame” (Erinn Sherlock with Mollie and Sam McClymont) mixes delicacy and assertive power in pondering the mysteries of the feminine. A more masculine vista of open spaces and lonesome freedom colors “I Could Be a Cowboy,” which they animate with aching, eloquent solo and three-part vocals. They all wrote this wistful tune with Nathan Chapman, as well as their first single, “Wrapped Up Good,” where they crank it as hot and high as the summit of Ayers Rock.
Born in Grafton, New South Wales, The McClymonts signed with Universal Australia in 2006. They were determined to succeed: Unable to afford a backup band when invited to tour with Lee Kernaghan, they picked up instruments they’d shelved years before to concentrate on singing, then woodshedded and hit the road playing and singing their parts. They’ve released two Gold-selling albums Down Under, done their first U.S. tour and won the prestigious ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Award for Best Country Album of the Year in 2010. Look for the U.S. release of their third album, Two Worlds Collide, later this year.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
YOUR MUSICAL HERO
BROOKE: “Dolly Parton. She is the reigning queen of Country Music.” SAM: “Shania Twain. She is a strong singer/songwriter who changed history for women in the music industry.” MOLLIE: “The Judds.”
SONG YOU SING IN THE SHOWERBROOKE: “Too many songs to name.” SAM: “‘All I Want to Do’ by Sugarland.” MOLLIE: “‘Firecracker’ by Josh Turner.”
SONG YOU WISH YOU’D WRITTENBROOKE: “Miranda Lambert’s ‘The House That Built Me.’” MOLLIE: “Sinéad O’Connor’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U.’” SAM: “Carrie Underwood’s ‘Jesus, Take the Wheel.’”
PHRASE YOU SAY OVER AND OVER AGAINBROOKE: “‘G’day! How are you?’ Or, ‘Cheers, mate!’” SAM: “I have that annoying habit of saying ‘do you know what I mean?’ after every sentence.” MOLLIE: “It better be good!”
SOMETHING WE’D NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOUBROOKE: “I twirl my hair and bite my nails. And I always like to drive.” SAM: “I’m addicted to online shopping.” MOLLIE: “I’m obsessed with reality TV. I grew up playing grass hockey. I love fried Oreos.”
TITLE OF YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHYSAM: “Stuck in the Middle … with Them.”
On the Web: www.TheMcClymonts.net