Austra is another artist that has been around a long while, but who I know little about.
Austra is essentially Katie Selmanis, who has been releasing music under this name since 2011. Which is kind of where I came in, as my collection includes two songs by Austra, both from 2011 but neither from their debut album Feel it Break.
Austra is now about to drop their fifth album, Chin Up Buttercup, preceded by the singles Math Equation in August and Siren Song on Tuesday (7th). I like them both a lot.
The electronic chord structures and beats are familiar territory perhaps, but Katie's voice that soars from opera to Cyberman and back again, provides a pleasing combination that sets it apart from other like-minded singer songwriters.
Chin Up Buttercup is out on 14th November and available for pre-order. You can also find Austra's previous four albums and Katie's soundtrack for Canadian docu-series Swan Song on Bandcamp.
Here are the two Austra songs I already have.
First up, a cover of Alone, Together by The Strokes, which appeared on the MP3-only 2011 release Stereogum Presents… Stroked: A Tribute To Is This It.
At the time, it was available as a free download; now, it appears that you need to be a paid-up subscriber to access the album.
Orpheus The second tracks is a remix of Beat And The Pulse from Austra's debut, by New York's Still Going aka Eric Duncan and Oliver Spencer (who ironically, aren't still going as Still Going).
I found this one as the opening track on the 2012 double CD Motion Sickness: A Domino Remix Compilation, which was troubling the bargain bins during a record store browse around that time. I was admittedly drawn in by other artists, and I was more familiar with Still Going than Austra, but it's strong start to a consistently good collection.
Further investigation required.
No comments:
Post a Comment