Future Politics

Austra may have traded some of Feel It Break's compelling rawness for a more polished approach on Olympia, but Future Politics' rare balance of poise and intensity makes it their most accomplished and emotionally satisfying album yet.

Her lyrics can be oblique and occasionally ungainly. But her voice--soaring, delicate--brings vulnerability and heat to this vision of a post-human world.

In short, the Canadian four-piece’s third LP is a terrific fusion of indie, new-wave and house that demands attention.

Like cold, clean water, Austra’s Future Politics washes clear the mental muck, leaving you feeling alive again.

Future Politics is political, danceable, dark, shimmering and hopeful. Not a combination easily achievable, but Austra have never been a normal band. Utopia might be fiction, but Future Politics is real, beautiful, necessary.

Although it's an intertextual and oftentimes challenging listen, Future Politics is also a compelling call to action to collectively conceive of the future and its manifold possibilities.

Future Politics is another impressive step in the evolution of Austra: while the band’s second album was a move towards shiny, commercial pop, the follow up sees a more sparse, fragile collection of songs.

It's the anti-hygge of records: cold, hard, and anything but comfortable. [Feb 2017, p.111]

Austra’s optimistic and propulsive record is a welcome accompaniment.

It’s music to be escaped into, whether on dance floors or alone somewhere, filled with a little less despair.

This latest offering carries an overwhelming feeling of desperation. [No. 139, p.53]

The result is another record that provides ample room for the elaborate unfurling of Stelmanis’ talents as a vocalist, her altitudinous range the billowing banner of a call to arms.

On a purely musical level, the album is not necessarily the band’s best or most consistent work, with Feel It Break looking like it may always be the fan favorite. Thematically, though, Austra is fulfilling their vision of themselves more than ever and solidifying their identity as a band, making Future Politics an edifying and intriguing listen all the same.

It's actually within the more minimal tone fabrics that her songs become more hypnotic, ebbing and flowing above its vaporous trails. [Jan-March 2017, p.64]

What the lyrics lack (and they certainly aren’t bad by any stretch--simply not particularly strong), the vocals mask.

Future Politics succeeds in conjuring the current feeling of exhaustion and the modern malaise--but is more like the confused anticipation of the present every day rather than the post-apocalyptic future.

Following the trend set on previous effort ‘Olympia’, the beats continue to become crunchier, direct and undoubtedly more contemporary--but unfortunately less interesting also.

On Future Politics we find Austra revolving on the spot, caught in a flattering beam of light but still hovering on the brink of taking those first, brave steps towards a radical utopia.

The overall feel is accomplished and often catchy, but it’s not as intriguingly esoteric as some material in this vein.

Future Politics' galvanised vision takes myriad forms. [Feb 2017, p.95]