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Product Description
Review
It’s a pleasing synchronicity: the very day that Kate Bush, the reclusive queen of quirk-pop, finally leaves her castle in the clouds to release her first album in six years, another Kate with a voice made for echoing around bleak landscapes, and a penchant for drama and the otherworldly, brings out her debut with Austra.
Former opera student Katie Stelmanis has been filling Toronto with the sound of music since she hit double figures – first as a chorister, then with post-punked-up gay grungers Galaxy; solo, and now, as singer-songwriter in this goth electro trio that bears her (middle) name.
She clearly hasn’t forgotten her training. Feel It Break is full of theatrical intensity, its set hung with murky, velvet synths on which her darkly luminescent vocals soar and swim, inherently melancholic, however exultant they appear. With its dancefloor-friendly beats (think The Knife with soul), it’s the sort of record you might stick on just before heading to an alternative club.
Which would be a bad idea, unless you have 47 minutes (or more – it’s addictive) to spare, for Stelmanis, bassist Dorian Wolf and drummer Maya Postepski have created something that plays as a carefully balanced, organic whole, like an inadvertent concept album. That’s more a testament to the skill with which it’s been put together than because it lacks standout moments; in fact, half the songs here could be released as singles, as Austra are as melodic as they are melodramatic.
Opener Darken Her Horse is a fitting curtain-raiser of a spellbinding debut which revives the heavily-eyelinered, Elnett-sprayed corpse of British new wave, and casts it in mists of ethereal magic. Hymn-like, all chords and church choir vocals, it slowly builds to surging, Japan-inflected heights which lead you to the ‘floor to bust your best robot moves. As does last single Beat and the Pulse, which evokes the era’s sleazier Soho scene with keyboard lines redolent of 80s revivalists Fischerspooner and Soft Cell chimes. Elsewhere, Hate Crime, with its plentiful "oohoo"s (as beloved by Katie as Kate) and the gorgeous, incantatory The Choke (which is reminiscent of fellow Canadians The Organ) are hook-heavy enough to get you repeating such unlikely mantras as "Sign / The consent forms" as you make extravagant arm movements around the living room. You might feel a little daft, but the odd lyrics only add to this band’s appealing mystery.
Let’s just hope Austra don’t find their inner recluse any time soon.
--Alix Buscovic
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
Product Description
CD
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
There's a lot of good electro-pop around at the moment; the kind
of stuff which plunders the past (especially the eighties) and
drags the genre back into focus with cool contemporary elan.
There's something about Austra, however, which sets them somewhat
apart from their contemporaries. There is a strange magic at work
in their new album 'Feel It Break'. This has much to do with the
voice of Katie Stelmanis; it is an extraordinary instrument!
Timeless; kind-of folksy-cum-summer-of-love-cum-classical-android.
(You will have to listen to it yourself and post me your own
attempts at describing it - I'm struggling here) I love it to bits!
Ms Stelmanis is assisted in her labours by bass player Dorian Wolf
and drummer Maya Postepski. There are eleven tracks in the collection.
The formula is a fairly simple one : sparkling synth chords and
arpeggios; four-square beats and quirky quasi-medieval arrangements.
It is the vocal performances, however, which bring the material to
sparkling life. Ms Stelmanis has a big range. She can sound almost
manly in her lower register but when she cranks it up to the top of
the stave she tweets and warbles like a happy nightingale on a warm
June evening! (You can hear her do both on 'The Future). The harmonies
are simple but haunting and the choruses curiously memorable.
I particularly enjoyed the sombre-hued (Bjork-ish) opening track
'Darken Her Horse', which would not sound out of place if played in a
Gothic catherdral by candlelight; the dense grinding textures of 'Spellwork'
(Ms Stelmanis' deadpan delivery is chilling on this one!) and the piano
flurries and wildly witchy vocals of spooky closing track 'The Beast'.... Read more ›
of stuff which plunders the past (especially the eighties) and
drags the genre back into focus with cool contemporary elan.
There's something about Austra, however, which sets them somewhat
apart from their contemporaries. There is a strange magic at work
in their new album 'Feel It Break'. This has much to do with the
voice of Katie Stelmanis; it is an extraordinary instrument!
Timeless; kind-of folksy-cum-summer-of-love-cum-classical-android.
(You will have to listen to it yourself and post me your own
attempts at describing it - I'm struggling here) I love it to bits!
Ms Stelmanis is assisted in her labours by bass player Dorian Wolf
and drummer Maya Postepski. There are eleven tracks in the collection.
The formula is a fairly simple one : sparkling synth chords and
arpeggios; four-square beats and quirky quasi-medieval arrangements.
It is the vocal performances, however, which bring the material to
sparkling life. Ms Stelmanis has a big range. She can sound almost
manly in her lower register but when she cranks it up to the top of
the stave she tweets and warbles like a happy nightingale on a warm
June evening! (You can hear her do both on 'The Future). The harmonies
are simple but haunting and the choruses curiously memorable.
I particularly enjoyed the sombre-hued (Bjork-ish) opening track
'Darken Her Horse', which would not sound out of place if played in a
Gothic catherdral by candlelight; the dense grinding textures of 'Spellwork'
(Ms Stelmanis' deadpan delivery is chilling on this one!) and the piano
flurries and wildly witchy vocals of spooky closing track 'The Beast'.... Read more ›
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Scott Davies
Format:Audio CD
During a recent investigation of bands who are alleged to have a sound similar to the classic New Wave/Alternative/Synthpop sound of the early 80's, I was lucky enough to sample Austra, a band that was unknown to me. Right away I was captured by the stunning female vocals, haunting melodies and classic Synthpop electronic sounds. Was this for real? I sampled track after track, very excited by what I was hearing. I instantly ordered the deluxe edition.
Wow, what a stunner of an album! Track after track is appealing. The album opens with the haunting "Darken Her Horse", which starts very mellow before picking up to a chill-giving gorgeous chorus. This is followed by the first video of theirs I watched on YouTube, "Lose It". The vocals are just breathtaking and the music has all those classic electronic sounds. There seems to be no lead or rhythm guitar in Austra, and they consist of electronics, bass and some real drums and drum machines. Talk Talk did a brilliant debut album in 1982 with this formula called "The Party's Over", and it still works all these years later.
The wonderful songs just continue with the amazing "Spellwork", another video which should be checked out. By watching Austra, you can see that they are a very artistic band in their visuals as well, without being pretentious. The album just keeps going with great tracks, then we get to "The Villain" with yet another powerful chorus that is so fulfilling.
The bonus CD just keeps up the greatness. "Identity" could be a retro dance floor filler, as could "Young and Gay". The most stunning track on this bonus CD is the melancholy "Trip". It's one of those songs that I sometimes have to play twice in a row. The downbeat melody with some wonderful drumming makes the hair on my neck stand on end.... Read more ›
Wow, what a stunner of an album! Track after track is appealing. The album opens with the haunting "Darken Her Horse", which starts very mellow before picking up to a chill-giving gorgeous chorus. This is followed by the first video of theirs I watched on YouTube, "Lose It". The vocals are just breathtaking and the music has all those classic electronic sounds. There seems to be no lead or rhythm guitar in Austra, and they consist of electronics, bass and some real drums and drum machines. Talk Talk did a brilliant debut album in 1982 with this formula called "The Party's Over", and it still works all these years later.
The wonderful songs just continue with the amazing "Spellwork", another video which should be checked out. By watching Austra, you can see that they are a very artistic band in their visuals as well, without being pretentious. The album just keeps going with great tracks, then we get to "The Villain" with yet another powerful chorus that is so fulfilling.
The bonus CD just keeps up the greatness. "Identity" could be a retro dance floor filler, as could "Young and Gay". The most stunning track on this bonus CD is the melancholy "Trip". It's one of those songs that I sometimes have to play twice in a row. The downbeat melody with some wonderful drumming makes the hair on my neck stand on end.... Read more ›
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Big G
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I walked into a record shop intent on buying the excellent album by Beth Jeans Houghton and this album was playing. Well, I'm a sucker for good synth pop and, at a very reasonable seven quid, it accompanied Ms Houghton home with me.
This is a sheer delight. Opera trained singer / founder member / songwriter Katie Stelmanis and her band have put together an album of eleven wonderful tracks, all in minor keys. I think I read that she has said she is unable to write songs in major keys ... well, I bet she could if she wanted to, but why try when she can do very nicely thank you in minor keys.
My fellow reviewer, The Wolf, has suggested we let him know our own description of Katie's voice. Well, to me, it's fragile at times, but when she needs to stretch it for the high notes, she gets there with no problem. Sorry, Wolf, I can't do any better than that; anyway, your description is pretty accurate. The one thing is that it blends and compliments the excellent keyboards, bass and drums to such a degree that it acts as an additional instrument.
The album starts with the very strong "Darken Her Horse" and continues on that very high plain until "The Choke" arrives, which sends the album into the stratosphere - yes, I'm rather partial to this track and have been told I've sung it in my sleep ... hmm! The rest of the album is simply brilliant, until we get to "The Noise", which is another special track.
There is nothing complicated about this album. It's just great tracks of darkly-laced lyrics and jaunty melodies (even minor chord melodies can be jaunty, I think.) The vocals are quite brilliant - I love her voice - and the harmonies are stunning. The other instrumentalists are bassist Dorian Wolf (no relation to The Wolf?... Read more ›
This is a sheer delight. Opera trained singer / founder member / songwriter Katie Stelmanis and her band have put together an album of eleven wonderful tracks, all in minor keys. I think I read that she has said she is unable to write songs in major keys ... well, I bet she could if she wanted to, but why try when she can do very nicely thank you in minor keys.
My fellow reviewer, The Wolf, has suggested we let him know our own description of Katie's voice. Well, to me, it's fragile at times, but when she needs to stretch it for the high notes, she gets there with no problem. Sorry, Wolf, I can't do any better than that; anyway, your description is pretty accurate. The one thing is that it blends and compliments the excellent keyboards, bass and drums to such a degree that it acts as an additional instrument.
The album starts with the very strong "Darken Her Horse" and continues on that very high plain until "The Choke" arrives, which sends the album into the stratosphere - yes, I'm rather partial to this track and have been told I've sung it in my sleep ... hmm! The rest of the album is simply brilliant, until we get to "The Noise", which is another special track.
There is nothing complicated about this album. It's just great tracks of darkly-laced lyrics and jaunty melodies (even minor chord melodies can be jaunty, I think.) The vocals are quite brilliant - I love her voice - and the harmonies are stunning. The other instrumentalists are bassist Dorian Wolf (no relation to The Wolf?... Read more ›
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4.9 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hauntingly fabulous!!!
I am a fan of 80 synth pop and this album certainly is reminiscent of this but with depth and soul and a little nostalgia rolled into one. Read more
Published 12 months ago by A. Heart
5.0 out of 5 stars
something refreshing
a really nice album, with extraordinary vocals and interesting musical ideas. really refreshing. cannot wait for another album to see if she will be able to surprise
Published 13 months ago by Ak Tumilowicz
5.0 out of 5 stars
Feel it Break, yes I do and I want More please
I spent a few hours checking out the top 50 tunes as suggested by NME. Austra stood out for me. I love a female vocal that does that little bit extra, but can still sooth and... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Brooksy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Soooo Happy!
Cannot remember the last time I bought a cd or downloaded an album and liked it from start to finish. A Gem. this band is going to be big.
Published 21 months ago by Le Tigre
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chilly
Icy synths coupled with vocal histrionics over pulsing dark electronics. Austra's debut is a slice of brilliance with its oblique sexual references and obvious cool setting it... Read more
Published 23 months ago by jut2k
5.0 out of 5 stars
Obsessed.
I am madly in love with this band. They are so many things I've been looking for in music. Melodic, dark, full of addictive beats, emotional without being corny, with a nod to... Read more
Published 23 months ago by ladyguinevere
4.0 out of 5 stars
A solid debut!
A fantastic album with lots of high points including stand-out tracks Beat and the Pulse and Lose It. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mr. B. R. Goodwin
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