If your ears and senses are feeling a little sensitive, then the songs of Matt Walters might be what you need. Taking his cues from musicians like Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake, the young Victorian’s work is imbibed with the uncomplicated, honest quality of modern folk music.

Walters has already come far, despite his young age. Moving around from Melbourne to Sydney to London and back to Victoria, the 23-year-old already has two albums under his belt – his novice teenage debut Like Therapy and the 2006 follow-up The Moon, The Stars & People. He has earned his stripes playing pub residencies and performing alongside the likes of Angie Hart, Liam Finn and Jenny Lewis. His four-song EP Echo On is the culmination of his years of youthful experience.

Walters likes to keep things simple, and the EP’s title track embodies all the qualities he is striving for: music that rejects overproduction, and which retains an honest, raw quality that allows his guitar and untarnished – and surprisingly mature – voice speak for themselves. The heartfelt song boasts a simple acoustic arrangement, augmented by subtle piano chords and quiet instrumental flourishes. The slightly more upbeat Sightseeing sees him explore the full emotional and tonal range of his voice, which takes on a laidback Bruce Springsteen quality.

As a storyteller he doesn’t tread new territory; some lyrics at times sound a little too familiar (such as “I took you for granted, I waited for too long, I watched you drift away till you were gone” from All I Know). But it’s that honesty and upfront quality of the songs which make this sort of music so pleasurable. Echo On is a brief but lovely precursor to Matt Walters’ third full-length album, set for release in 2010.

Matt Walters’ Echo On is out now exclusively on iTunes.