There is an astuteness to Floodlight’s observations of the world that inhabits their recent album Painting Of My Time. Two of the Melbourne four-piece Ashlee Kehoe and Louis Parsons joined Up For It!’s Maleeka Gazula for a deeper delve into their writing process and recent tour. 

Since their debut release of From A View in 2020, Floodlights have embarked on a journey of not just self-discovery, but a quest to better understand the land in which they live.

With it, comes a 10-track, post-punk masterpiece, made up of piano, trumpet, synth, and violin. These sounds are shaped by the observations members of Floodlights made during their time on tour playing SXSW and performing with the likes of Black Midi.

Recorded over an intense four days, Painting Of My Time is glittered with almost yearning harmonica solos and earnest, raw vocals. On their recording process Ashlee said:

“We had to get it all done quickly in a way, so we recorded it all live, which was good for us because it’s how we like to play and we wanted to capture our live sound which is what we wanted to do with this album.”

It’s the timeless terrain of Kakadu National Park that had sprung to vocalist Ashlee’s mind when untangling the album’s lyrics. The track ‘Wide Open Land’ was written for Mother Nature and their desire for her over lockdown.

We hear the verdant valleys of the Australian landscape in Ashlee’s jubilant harmonica intro for Painting Of My Time, as their interpretation of the world that surrounds them bleeds through the entirety of the album.

Both Ashlee and Louis are prolific writers, who have still found time within their touring schedule to continue to write – their lyrics and personal musings have each etched their way into songs. Louis explained:

“Writing down words can somehow sort of be a better form of self-expression and understanding yourself and the country we live in and the people who live here.”

It’s these intuitive themes that crop up throughout the interview that makes Painting Of My Time a looking glass into the minds of Floodlights and mark their unique stamp on their sound. Stream it below, or listen back to their full interview with Maleeka Gazula up top.