This one starts out with "We Were Alive". We're dealing with some synth pop here, so the nice spacey intro we get welcomed with is going to get pretty familiar sounding fast. There's actually almost a nice ambient feel to this, come to think of it I would love to hear these guys go down a more ambient route in the future. Quickly though, Austra get a whole lot heavier. I think the most stunning element to Austra's music is just the contrast between this airy atmosphere, the heavy and almost industrial synths, and these angelic vocal performances of Katie Stelmanis. Katie's vocal performances have been top notch for years, and here is no different. While this is a synth-pop record at heart, I'm honestly not too used to these slower paced tracks for the genre, it's actually quite powerful. The piano's that come in behind Katie alongside her passionate performance make "We Were Alive quite the eye-opening intro. It's also just wild to hear how confident she has gotten with her vocals as well. They've always been solid and all, but the performances here are next level and often explosive. It's a fantastic intro, but it may be hard to swallow for synth-pop enthusiasts. Up next is the title track, and one of the earlier singles dropped from the album, "Future Politics". Right off the bat it's much more upbeat and more or less what you would expect to hear from synth pop these days. There's a real nice groove to this though, not to mention this may just be the most haunting dance track I've heard in a while. While it remains far from a dance-floor "anthem", this is still pretty darn groovy. There are a few disco influences thrown in there, and some seriously heavy synths that won't give up. But at the same time, there's enough great performances here to keep it from feeling TOO synthetic. There's certainly some dark undertones here as well for those who dig their synth-pop with a little darkness intertwined. Katie's performances here are overwhelming and huge, but it doesn't drown out any of the grooves. Overall, "Future Politics" is just a great pop tune, it's not nearly as epic as the album's opening track. but it's much easier on the ears and is easier to enjoy on your first listen. "Utopia" remains solid in this fantastic opening block of synth-pop tunes. While you're going through this you're going to start hearing a ton of different influences, everything from the obvious Ladytron to the less obvious Marina & The Diamonds. Katie takes a bit of a backseat here as far as her performance goes. I'm not saying it's a slouched performance at all, but this is certainly less overpowering. "Utopia" is all about the beat and the grooves, which are certainly solid enough to stand on their own. So far, this has been Austra's most consistent work by far. "Utopia" may not be as memorable, and I could have used a little more of Katie's performance, but still this gets a big ol' check in my book. The first track that really trips up Austra here is "I'm A Monster". The intro here is the airiest, most ethereal yet, and to be honest I'm not feeling it one bit. If I do have to make one harsh criticism on Austra, it's that they seriously have to learn to be more consistent between their instrumentals and their vocals. Here, I'm getting WAY too much of Katie's vocals and quite frankly not nearly enough of everything else. Like, when the beat does hit, it's exciting for a few seconds, until it goes right back to taking the back seat to everything. Even that pulsating beat behind Katie's performance is barely audible, and when it DOES pop in and take center stage, it seems a little too simplistic. "I'm A Monster" certainly could have been nice, but I have way too many issues with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fiacjVTorc
Thankfully, Austra get back on track pretty quickly with “I Love You More Than You Love Yourself”. The beats here aren’t exactly genre-defining, but they’re certainly confident enough to work just fine. What makes “I Love You More Than You Love Yourself” such a solid tune is that HERE they find the perfect balance of beats to performance. Here, Katie is really taking her performance to the next level with these ridiculous high notes that seem almost impossible to hit. I absolutely love the synth breakdowns after each verse, to be honest I wish I heard more little details like that here and there. The break here is unexpectedly really heavy, I for one didn’t expect to hear all of that bass. When the verses come back into play, Austra pick up nicely and transition smoothly for a solid Synth Pop moment. My only slight issue with “I Love You More Than You Love Yourself”, is that it’s a bit long, but that’s really all. Up next is “Angel In Your Eye”, and I HATE saying this but man is that beat ever ugly. Up until this point, the album has been pristinely produced, all of a sudden this beat seriously sticks out like a real sore thumb. Katie here is about two notes away from rapping, which I am 100% NOT a fan of. Some of her more straightforward vocal notes here are solid, but overall this track just doesn’t do much for me at all. On earlier tracks the subtle dark moments came off as a cool edge, here all of these dark lyrical moments come off as cringe-worthy. And on top of all of that, “Angel In Your Eye” is just sooooooo sluggish. It’s not even a slow-burner, it’s just SLOW. No, it’s not good. “Freepower” which is up next, has a nice ambient sounding intro like some of the earlier tracks on here. There are actually some really cool wind chimes thrown in there that work wonders for Austra, sometimes it’s the little details that do the most. When the beat comes in, this may just be the most adventurous sounding beat we’ve heard here yet, and easily the most technical. There are some serious grooves here, and Katie’s performance doesn’t leave anything out. There are TONS of little details on this one that make “Freepower” one of the most memorable tracks here. There’s also some world music influences here that work really nicely for Austra, to be honest I wouldn’t mind hearing more of that. Meanwhile, this is one of the longest tracks here, but it BARELY feels like it. “Gaia” on the other hand is way too much of a throwback for my taste. Obviously there are a ton of “throwback to the 80’s” feels all throughout this album, everything ranging from some Synth Pop influence to some New Wave too. But c’mon, this literally sounds like a Eurhythmics rip off through and through. Katie barely even sounds like herself here, this performance is just so bland and breathless. Even this beat is just so boring, this whole track sounds like it couldn’t have taken more than 5 minutes to put together. All I can say is thankfully this is one of the shorter tracks here.
This album overall is certainly Austra’s most interesting work yet, and while the middle of the album get’s inconsistent thankfully they end everything off on a high note. “Beyond A Mortal” starts off with another spacey ambient passage that actually works very nicely with the sound of the album. The beat here to be honest, is just what I want to hear from Austra. It’s simple, but at the same time it seems adventurous. The atmosphere on this track is commendable as well, this spacey atmosphere has been with us almost the whole album but never this thick or interesting. “Beyond A Mortal” comes across as so mechanical and cold, but it still remains inviting and quite beautiful thanks to Katie’s performance. It does go on a bit long, but the progressive feel to this track keeps everything interesting and fresh for the whole track. Up next, “Deep Thought” was an interlude I certainly wasn’t expecting. It’s more or less just a whole minute of harp chords and sweet sounds. It’s certainly not bad, and it’s only around for a minute so if this ain’t your style it’s certainly not going to overstay it’s welcome. As far as the finale goes, “43” is another slow burner. The atmosphere on this one is super strong again, and we once again see Austra toying with a slight industrial sound (Think “PrettyHateMachine” era Nine Inch Nails). On “43” things have clearly gotten a whole lot colder, the only thing about this that IS inviting is Katie’s performance. It’s not as exciting as earlier dark tracks here, but it still comes off as a solid outro. My only real issue with this is that it gets a little bit repetitive, only a little though. Solid work overall!
Rating: 7.6/10
Give A Listen To: “We Were Alive”, “Future Politics”, “Beyond A Mortal”, "Freepower"
Overall Thoughts: As far as I'm concerned, this is Austra's most consistent effort. No, there's not much here truly groundbreaking for Synth Pop, but Austra just put together some great, catchy, cool synth pop. The spacey, dystopian atmosphere comes off smooth, and Katie Stelmanis's vocal deliveries are pretty stunning. It's far from perfect, but if you're looking for some solid Synth Pop, check it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fiacjVTorc
Thankfully, Austra get back on track pretty quickly with “I Love You More Than You Love Yourself”. The beats here aren’t exactly genre-defining, but they’re certainly confident enough to work just fine. What makes “I Love You More Than You Love Yourself” such a solid tune is that HERE they find the perfect balance of beats to performance. Here, Katie is really taking her performance to the next level with these ridiculous high notes that seem almost impossible to hit. I absolutely love the synth breakdowns after each verse, to be honest I wish I heard more little details like that here and there. The break here is unexpectedly really heavy, I for one didn’t expect to hear all of that bass. When the verses come back into play, Austra pick up nicely and transition smoothly for a solid Synth Pop moment. My only slight issue with “I Love You More Than You Love Yourself”, is that it’s a bit long, but that’s really all. Up next is “Angel In Your Eye”, and I HATE saying this but man is that beat ever ugly. Up until this point, the album has been pristinely produced, all of a sudden this beat seriously sticks out like a real sore thumb. Katie here is about two notes away from rapping, which I am 100% NOT a fan of. Some of her more straightforward vocal notes here are solid, but overall this track just doesn’t do much for me at all. On earlier tracks the subtle dark moments came off as a cool edge, here all of these dark lyrical moments come off as cringe-worthy. And on top of all of that, “Angel In Your Eye” is just sooooooo sluggish. It’s not even a slow-burner, it’s just SLOW. No, it’s not good. “Freepower” which is up next, has a nice ambient sounding intro like some of the earlier tracks on here. There are actually some really cool wind chimes thrown in there that work wonders for Austra, sometimes it’s the little details that do the most. When the beat comes in, this may just be the most adventurous sounding beat we’ve heard here yet, and easily the most technical. There are some serious grooves here, and Katie’s performance doesn’t leave anything out. There are TONS of little details on this one that make “Freepower” one of the most memorable tracks here. There’s also some world music influences here that work really nicely for Austra, to be honest I wouldn’t mind hearing more of that. Meanwhile, this is one of the longest tracks here, but it BARELY feels like it. “Gaia” on the other hand is way too much of a throwback for my taste. Obviously there are a ton of “throwback to the 80’s” feels all throughout this album, everything ranging from some Synth Pop influence to some New Wave too. But c’mon, this literally sounds like a Eurhythmics rip off through and through. Katie barely even sounds like herself here, this performance is just so bland and breathless. Even this beat is just so boring, this whole track sounds like it couldn’t have taken more than 5 minutes to put together. All I can say is thankfully this is one of the shorter tracks here.
Rating: 7.6/10
Give A Listen To: “We Were Alive”, “Future Politics”, “Beyond A Mortal”, "Freepower"
Overall Thoughts: As far as I'm concerned, this is Austra's most consistent effort. No, there's not much here truly groundbreaking for Synth Pop, but Austra just put together some great, catchy, cool synth pop. The spacey, dystopian atmosphere comes off smooth, and Katie Stelmanis's vocal deliveries are pretty stunning. It's far from perfect, but if you're looking for some solid Synth Pop, check it out.
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