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 7 September 2020.

Thibault - Or Not Thibault (Chapter Music)**Album of the Week

Or Not Thibault is the latest album from Melbourne's Nicole Thibault, a unique collection of kaleidoscopic pop and radiophonic rock. A skilful storyteller, Thibault balances humour and sincerity in her lyrics over a compelling textural palette of vintage psychedelia and pristine electronic sounds. Contributing to the project are an impressive list of collaborators: Zak Olsen (Orb, Traffik Island), Rebecca Liston (Parsnip), Lachlan Denton (The Ocean Party, Pop Filter) and Julian Patterson (Minimum Chips).

Demae - Life Works Out... Usually (Touching Bass)

Life Works Out... Usually is the impressive debut solo from London’s Damae, previously known for her work as one-third of hip hop troop Hawk House. The new release is a coming of age story celebrating self-empowerment, cultural awakening and Black joy. Musically, Life Works Out builds on London soul and jazz-influenced sounds with rushes of Flying Lotus electronics and new-age Dilla-isms.

Various Artists - First Sounds Vol.3 (Indigitube / CBAA)

Presented by The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia and First Nations Media Australia, First Sounds Vol.3 is the latest in an innovative series of releases aimed at delivering more First Nations music to community radio. Featuring artists from locales as diverse as inner-city Melbourne to Ntaria in the Central Desert, and with sounds as varied as hypnotic ballads sung in language to ambient electronica, First Sounds Vol. 3 is a testament to the abundance of talent from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists.

More information here

Bill Callahan - Gold Record (Drag City)

Bill Callahan continues the rich vein of form in the latest chapter of his career, kicked off by last year’s excellent Shephard in a Sheepskin Vest, an exploration of domesticity and fatherhood. On Gold Record, Callahan continues the trend, however he moves beyond the theme of settling down and effortlessly slips into characters of wise old men observing and bemusedly participating in the world of 2020 with caustic wit and humanity. The arrangements here are sparse and thoughtful, anchored by acoustic guitars but with brief and surprising visits from horns, percussion and strings.

Tricky - Fall To Pieces (False Idols)

The Berlin based British trip-hop pioneer delivers his 14th album Fall to Pieces. Composed of short, economical tracks which rarely hit the 3 minute mark, the album is notable for Tricky’s pairing with little-known Polish vocalist Marta Złakowska, who brings an icy, eastern Euro-pop aesthetic to the project.

Soundwalk Collective with Patti Smith - Peradam (Bella Union)

The experimental collective enlist the legendary NYC musician Patti Smith for their latest sonic journey. Peradam takes as its conceptual springboard Rene Daumal’s 1940s novel Mount Analogue: a Novel of Symbolically Authentic Non-Euclidean Adventures in Mountain Climbing, in which the French writer mapped a metaphysical journey to “the ultimate symbolic mountain” in search of meaning. In addition to Smith’s vocals, the record features Tibetan drums, Sitar, singing bowls, nested in gorgeous field recordings of birds, bugs, wind and weather from sacred parts of the world.

Elmo Aoyama - Spells (Dinosaur City)

The debut EP from the Tokyo-born Sydney-based musician is a mesmerising collage of pop-colours and fleeting moments. Through dreamy synth ballads and lush anthems, Aoyama cycles through deeply personal and widely universal themes of love, life, death, loss and politics in a stream of consciousness. Of her process, Aoyama has said “Spells is a collection of songs written during transit through automatic writing. Each song represents a time already passed which will never be revisited again.”

JessB - 3 Nights In Amsterdam mixtape (The Orchard)

JessB continues her ascendent rise following her acclaimed first two EPs New Views and Bloom. On her new mixtape, the New Zealand emcee explores new sonic landscapes and styles, mining the sounds of dancehall, reggaeton and electronic influences to lift her trademark sass-leaning rhymes and hip-hop flavour.

Throwing Muses - Sun Racket (Fire Records)

The legendary Boston trio drop the latest album in their storied career which now spans over three decades. On Sun Racket the band flip their songwriting method on its head. Where on previous albums, the band have channeled the live experience in the studio, Sun Racket, lead singer Kirst Hersh has said, was the opposite: “it refused to do anything but sit still. It says, “sit here and deal.”

Naked Roommate - Do The Duvet (Upset The Rhythm)

Naked Roommate is Amber Sermeńo and Andy Jordan, former members of the departed Oakland post-punk mainstays THE WORLD. On their debut album Do the Duvet, the duo stand on the skeletal, danceable post-punk ground of their former project, but absorb elements of house music, dub and disco, with the manic DIY aesthetic of a band tinkering around in their home studio. The lyrics are laced with big picture ideas of capitalism, reality, reproduction and identity, all packaged in a sound that encourages you to hit the dancefloor first and think about it later.