Austra was a light in its original composure. One that was group generated but passionately sole composed by Katie Stelmanis. In their present form, they are producing an intense heat made of modern-romantic substance while evoking visions of glowing rich material.
Austra’s latest sophomore album titled Olympia burns with electronic injected incantations and thrives on strata-infused synergy; it’s a collaborative process that began with Stelmanis and over time developed and formed not unlike a modern vinyl Geode, organic and rock steady but fluorescent and rad to the core.
At the drop, it’s not hard to hear that Maya Postepski (drums), Dorian Wolfe (bassist) and Ryan Wonsiak (keys) drew from their well of defined talents to spin a metal thread that would sew a seamless intuitive stitch with Katie’s emotionally charged dialect. Dynamic duo (aka twin sisters) Sari and Romy Lightman of Tasseomancy not only sing back up but lend a feeling of distance while framing the lead.
As expected, Stelmanis’ dramatic vocal caress, casts slow cerebral tingling spells, this time more confrontational in form. ‘Home’ makes direct eye contact with lyrics like:
“You know that it hurts me when you don’t come home at night,
My body can’t rest unless you’re sleeping by my side
You know that it hurts me when you stay away all night
What is it that keeps you there, keeping you occupied…”
The whole track is a pro-fusion of aural abundance. ‘You Changed My Life’ seems to give gratitude in the beginning with “You changed my life for the best,” and then soundscapes build, peaks form and instrumental relationships fade out…
The beauty of Olympia contains shapes of feeling that braid rich aural juxtapositions: new age electronica dances with traditional operatic vocals; intuition locks fingers with theory. Simply put, this album is an opera-beat dance floor urgency mounting international forte.
