Soundscape is a weekly look at local and international releases making an impression on our musical radar. The list offers a cross-section of EPs and albums arriving at the station.

We have been busily scouring the Soundscape! Check out some of our favourite finds for this week 14 September 2020.

Sweeping Promises - Hunger For A Way Out (Feel It Records)**Album of the Week

The debut LP from Sweeping Promises, arrives "straight from the depths of an unused Boston-area concrete laboratory". It's a thrilling set of new-wave and post-punk sounds. The central duo Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug have been making music together for years in different bands, but Sweeping Promises quickly grew from a new creative approach. "We wanted to capture the exhilaration of writing songs in the moment, of irrepressible energy and things just barely holding together. A lot of our other projects featured very in-depth production efforts; we wanted Sweeping Promises to work fast n’ loose."

JK-47 - Made For This (Independent)

The 22 year old Bundjalung rapper from Tweed Heads South drops his debut LP on the back of winning the National Indigenous Music Awards competition and a string of hyped solo tracks and feature verses. Made for This introduces an articulate, unapologetic and stylish young talent “on a mission to touch the hearts and minds of the Nation and the world.” Over a palette of slick 90s era hip-hop production, JK-47 raps about fatherhood, mental health, and the ongoing struggles facing First Nations Australians.

Haiku Hands - Haiku Hands (Spinnig Top Records / Positive Feedback)

Following years of festival-stealing live performances at the likes of Splendour in the Grass, SXSW and The Great Escape, Haiku Hands arrive with their long awaited debut LP. Channeling the sweat-soaked energy of their live shows, the band drop banger after banger on their debut, only occasionally coming up for a breath of air with the gorgeous ‘Sunride’ and ‘Car Crash.’ The songs here explore technology, consumerism and surveillance, while celebrating young hedonism and female empowerment.

Various Artists - The Searchers & Hobbies Galore Compilation (The Searchers/Hobbies Galore)

The Melbourne label Hobbies Galore team up with the much loved Smith Street record store The Searchers for a new compilation of unreleased local gems. Featured here are tracks from Hobbies Galore founder J.McFarlane’s Reality Guest, Green Children, Big Supermarket and more. Coinciding with the release a limited edition poster by artist and designer Ed Davis, with all profits being donated to Children’s Ground, a charity aimed at disrupting the status quo for disadvantaged First Nations children.

Vika & Linda - Sunday (The Gospel According To Iso) (Bloodlines / Mushroom Group)

As the realities of pandemic isolation became apparent early in 2020, the revered singing sisters Vika & Linda Bull began the ritual of Sunday Sing Song, a weekly home broadcast of gospel music as a way to keep singing and give something back to their fans. From this process they connected with musical director Cameron Bruce to form the nexus of a new Gospel inspired album Sunday (The Gospel According to Iso). “Gospel is a genre we know we can do faithfully,” says Linda Bull. “It doesn’t feel laboured for us, it feels like a release and when we sing these songs, we feel better. And when that happens, hopefully people will feel the same way.”

The Flaming Lips - American Head (Bella Union)

Wayne Coyne and Co., now into their fifth decade as recording artists, release their sixteenth studio album American Head. The Lips have long avoided being tethered to a specific time and place, rather channeling influences and intentions which can only be said to be earthly. On their latest, however, the now 7-piece act embrace their identity of being American, taking instruction from the likes of The Grateful Dead, Parliament-Funkadelic and Neil Young. Conceptually, the album is about a level of empathy that comes with age. Coyne has written about this process “Something switches and others (your brothers and sisters and mother and father...your pets) start to become more important to you…in the beginning there is only you... and your desires are all that you can care about...but... something switches... I think all of these songs are about this little switch.”

Toots and the Maytals - Got to Be Tough (Trojan Jamaica / BMG Records)

The legendary reggae collective Toots and the Maytals release their first record in more than a decade. The hugely influential act, who are responsible for the adoption of the nomenclature ‘reggae’, have little to prove 60 odd years into their career, and on Got to Be Tough, they continue to play to their strengths: bright and glossy production, rollicking guitar and spirited horns. The record is a tribute to the enduring charisma and talent of Toots Hibbert himself, who tragically passed away in his home of Kingston just days ago, surrounded by family and loved ones.

Music Yared - Music Yared (Music In Exile)

The Melbourne based duo Anbessa Gebrehiwot and Haftu Reda are virtuosic performers of krar and masinko, traditional string instruments from Eritrea and Ethiopia. Their new release is five takes on traditional folk songs and original compositions driven by Anbessa’s strong vocal performance and Haftu’s “sweet lyrical modesty” in collaboration with producer and multi-instrumentalist Dale Gorfinkel.

Poppongene - 'Futures Unsure Remix' EP (Our Golden Friend)

After releasing her critically acclaimed debut EP ‘Futures Unsure’ early in 2020, multi-disciplinary artist Sophie Treloar sent the call out to friends and collaborators to rework the tracks. Of the process, Treloar has said "It’s so refreshing to hear the songs from Futures Unsure reimagined by all of these talented sweethearts. They’re all so unique and I can hear pieces of each artist in all of them. It was a really fun collaboration project to complete while in isolation and made me feel more connected to my friends and my community."

Big Yawn - South Preston Garage (Research Records)

South Preston Garage is Melbourne quartet’s second contribution to the Research Records label. Titled in honour of their beloved bandroom, the new release is compiled of demos extracted from the studio for a digital release and a limited run of cassettes. Honouring their trademark pastiche, the group pair sweeping synthesizers with dense percussive elements in the jam tradition, translating the satisfaction of live music at a time when we need it most.