Scott Morrow is ALARM’s music editor. Patrick Hajduch is a very important lawyer. Each week they debate the merits of a different album.
Austra: “Beat and the Pulse”
[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Austra_Beat_and_the_Pulse.mp3|titles=Austra: “Beat and the Pulse”]Morrow: A DIY advocate from the Toronto underground, singer/multi-instrumentalist Katie Stelmanis is the force behind Austra, a new electro-pop trio that incorporates an operatic flare. Stelmanis grew up learning the viola and piano while also singing in the Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus, and that vibrato vocal ability is what carries this Austra debut.
The musical complexity isn’t as pronounced here as it was on Stelmanis’ solo debut, Join Us, which preceded Feel It Break. But both albums channel a moody yet melodic dance/electronic sound — a style that’s sure to draw comparisons to The Knife.
Hajduch: Austra will immediately be compared to The Knife and to Zola Jesus. Both comparisons are somewhat unfair. The Knife’s music is a lot more dynamic and dancefloor-motivated, and the vocals are frequently obscured. Zola Jesus, by comparison, is a bit more drab and her voice isn’t nearly as strong. But when you have female vocals and minor-key synth pop, the comparisons are sure to follow.
I hated “Lose It” the first time I heard it (when it was accompanied by this oddly unsettling video), but the strength of the songwriting (love that bridge!) really won me over. The album as a whole is well written and well produced, but I think that it will lose some points for maintaining that slow dancefloor throb for its entire duration.
Morrow: The life-flashing-before-your-eyes reflection of that video is cool, but it also seems weird for the sake of being weird — and it also features bare feet on a dirty floor. Minus more points.
I agree that the constant dance feel makes the album drag a bit (ironically). It’s a little prettier and more direct than Join Us, which will allow more listeners to get into it, but I would have liked a few of those older elements to help break up the feel a bit.
Hajduch: It’s too bad that the album has such a monolithic feel, because it’s strong the whole way through. Stelmanis’ voice is really striking, and the piano and synthesizers all sound great. The album’s only flaw is too much of a good thing. But for anybody who likes the aforementioned bands or synth pop in general — the type of person who lives in a minor key hovering around 125 BPM, anyways — Austra’s Feel It Break comes very highly recommended.