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: Feel It Break (Domino, 5/17/11)
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.