Sydney-via-Perth artist Meg Mac got her start as many great Aussie musicians have – on Triple J’s Unearthed. Hope is a mini–album, seven bursts of mostly electronic pop that make a strong argument for brevity.

It opens with ‘Give Me My Name Back’, a swirling downtempo R&B sledgehammer that pushes into previously unexplored territory for Mac. Elsewhere ‘I’m Not Coming Back’ is a piano–laden slow burner that builds gradually, and the album’s penultimate track and one of its highlights is ‘If You Want Me To Stay’, a triumphant letter to a would–be partner that squares the score on Mac’s own terms. It’s a succinct collection of songs that cements Mac as one of Australia’s most promising songwriters.