karin dreijer andersson |

Austra – Lose It

Took a pit stop over at Stereogum. Found this: Austra is the Toronto trio of vocalist/pianist/etc Katie Stelmanis (ex-Galaxy), drummer Maya Postepski (ex-Galaxy, currently TRUST), and bassist Dorian Wolf (ex-Spiral Beach), but the bulk of the band’s promo photos feature the singer by her lonesome. Even if Stelmanis wasn’t the primary songwriter, her powerful, instantly memorable voice would deserve the front-and-center attention. Some background: She joined the Canadian Children’s Opera at 10, sang for the Canadian Opera Company, and pursued a career in opera (while learning viola and piano) until she attended a punk show and joined a band. Instead of going on to focus on music in college, she listened to NIN and the Knife and started doing production work (for soundtracks and local plays), deciding she wanted to “make classical music with really fucked up, distorted crazy shit on there.” She went on to contribute to Fucked Up’s The Chemistry of Common Life and released the album Join Us under her given name, but considering all that history, Austra’s excellently dark and danceable Feel It Break feels like her proper debut. It was mixed by Damian Taylor (Björk, The Prodigy, UNKLE) and it feels huge. It’s not the fucked-up classical music she first envisioned, no — you could think of another goth-y, minor key-obsessed singers like Zola Jesus and Karin Dreijer Andersson, but Stelmanis & Co. create a lighter, more shimmering atmosphere. At times you might be reminded of Nico’s extremely icy The Marble Index with a warmer new wave pulse. Whatever the case, it’s a strong (100% dud-free) collection and one of 2011’s surefire best. Get acquainted via “Lose It.” Download and listen to the track yourself above.