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 4 November 2019.

Elizabeth - The Wonderful World of Nature **Album of the Week

The Totally Mild frontwoman Elizabeth Mitchell releases her debut solo album, framing a creative renewal and a clear-eyed album statement. On The Wonderful World of Nature, Elizabeth has composed a stunning collection of heartbreak bangers - cinematic, cathartic and unforgettable. Mitchell realises her stated aim as "a new patron saint of sad girls...a glamourous tragic, a queer pop anti-heroine holding a curtain of glittering melodies and catchy veneers over ugly truths."

Archie Roach - Tell Me Why (Bloodlines/Mushroom Group Promotions)

Released in conjunction with a memoir by the same name, Tell Me Why, proves that the 63 year old activist, poet, songwriter and musician still has plenty to reveal about Australia and our relationship to land, language and people. The 18 tracks accompany the 18 chapters of Archie's remarkable life as outlined in his memoir.

Jonnine Standish - Super Natural (Good Morning Tapes)

The HTRK frontwoman strikes out on her own for her stunning debut release, recorded between Hawaii, Peru and Australia. Backed by gentle drum machines, wandering synth melodies, and features from band-mate Nigel Yang and husband Conrad Standish, the four tracks were imagined as the score to a yet-to-be-made surreal thriller set in Venice.

Gang Starr - One of the Best Yet (Gang Starr Enterprises LLC)

The one-time Boston hip-hop duo release their final album following the death of founding member Guru nearly a decade ago. Using unreleased vocals from Guru recorded over his prolific career, and new beats by surviving member DJ Premier, One of the Best Yet is a reminder of Gang Starr's enormous talent, legacy and influence.

Sudan Archives - Athena (Stones Throw/Inertia)

The LA-based singer, songwriter, beatmaker and violinist releases her most ambitious, vulnerable and confrontational album yet - a psychedelic, magnetic take on modern R&B. Embracing a newly collaborative approach, Sudan Archives worked with numerous producers, writers and instrumentalists in collating the 12 tracks, defined by her singular North-African take on fiddle playing, combined with slick beatmaking and deeply confessional lyrics. Athena places Sudan Archives alongside contemporaries Frank Ocean, FKA Twigs, SZA and Solange in the canon of weird, complex, boundary-defining contemporary R&B.

Cate Le Bon x Bradford Cox - Myths 004 (Mexican Summer/Mistletone)

The two icons of 21st century indie-rock team up as part of the Brooklyn record label Mexican Summers' Myths series, which aims to pair up likeminded artists for a collaborative release. Myths 004 is the product of the Deerhunter frontman and the Welsh songwriter "embracing chaos".

FKA Twigs - MAGDALENE (Xl Recordings/Remote Control)

Magdalene is the second full length from the English experimental R&B songwriter FKA Twigs. Where her debut was in many ways a celebration of the universality of sexuality and the erotic, Magdelene, focuses more on the personal and the expressive. As with all of FKA Twigs' work, Magdalene thrives on straddling binaries - confessional and deeply private; pop and experimental; human and alien; manufactured and organic.

30/70 - Fluid Motion (Rhythm Section International)

With their third album, the Melbourne neo-soul collective have taken influence from the sky-rocketing London Jazz scene as well as the burgening Melbourne community. Front-woman Alysha Joy's raw and recognisable vocals drive Fluid Motion with the band set to soar as the one of the faces of the Australian sound currently making international waves.

Brightness - Brightness (I OH YOU/Mushroom Promotions)

The Newcastle songwriter Alex Knight follows up his gorgeous and acclaimed debut Teething with his self-titled sophomore. Where Teething was an isolated, introspective record, Brightness opens up a certain amount of space, finding Knight looking outwards for meaning, fuelled by a sense of wonder.

Jadasea - 'Half-Life' EP

The London artist enlists King Krule under his Edgar the Beatmaker moniker to produce his new EP. 'Half Life' is a five-track exhibition of Jadasea's capacity for dusty beat-making, lo-fi vocals and samples buried under layers of fuzz and mumbles.