Austra
Future Politics
Pink Fizz Records
Kate Stelmanis and her main counterpart, Maya Postepski, are Austra: the electronic music producers from Ontario, Canada. The release of their third studio album, Future Politics, is the most ambitious to date. Not falling far from the ideals of The Radio Dept.βs recent release of Running Out Of Love, this album is a call out of the worldβs current dystopian state. The writing of this album was heavily influenced by Kateβs time living in two vastly different cities, Montreal and Mexico City. Kate was driven and inspired by the clash of social, economic, and philosophical ideals.
Future Politics maintains a steady drive of propulsive house beats. It blends soothing and delicate melodies of synth-pop with club worthy danceability. The record has a concept and purpose, depicted through Stelmanisβ lyricism and the bandβs up-tempo tendencies. The songs render something you might find on a Chairlift album β maybe itβs talent that Stemanis and Caroline Polachek learned in operatic training.
βFuture Politicsβ, the albumβs title track, kicks right in with a club rock groove that sounds like the band has been listening to The Faint. The distorted bass and clingy, sharp electronic drums provide an urgent but calm house track. In the middle of the album, Austra breaks down to a more funky hip-hop sound on βAngel In Your Eyeβ. Arpeggiated synths wash in and out while Kate croons, βI need itβ, with slow and seductive repetition. On βBeyond a Mortalβ, Kate wallows in a dreamy, slow building vocal performance. Bouncing percussive hits and washy cymbals push the tune along behind a heavy, drowning synth bass.
The album is clearly political, but itβs also personal and inspirational. The beats are feverish and the vocal melodies have an unsettling manner in them. Stemanisβ unique sleepless tone lets you hear the passion for the topics this album discusses. Austraβs greatest strength might beΒ Β Β Β Β Β presenting shocking and important issues in a mellow, almost soothing, manner. The band is clever and talented, yet thereβs not much more to this album that fans havenβt already heard previously from Feel It Break and Olympia. Despite the newfound appreciation and influence Kate felt from Montreal and Mexico City, there arenβt many new elements to Austra’s sound. No touch of traditional folk sounds or hint of the thriving Latin American club scene. The group will hit the road on January 20, starting in Toronto and ending in Detroit on February 19.
ArtistΒ Links
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: AUSTRA – FUTURE POLITICS
Andrew Smith