NEW & NOTABLE Releases

Austra

Future Politics (DOMINO)

Toronto-based Austra’s third album, Future Politics, pushes their modus of uptempo mystic dark-wave permeated by airy goth song. At home in the frosty confines continuing to surround her, lead singer, keyboardist, and producer Katie Stelmanis soars over a bolstered field of production and through spirited themes addressing the forces that prompt reaction. What commands attention, as ever, are the farther reaches found by Stelmanis’ voice, with a resonance not shared by many of her wave-tronica contemporaries.

Musically, the scope is grand and sweeping, a natural evolution from 2013’s already dynamic Olympia , with arrangement contribution from drummer/producer Maya Postepski and Moog sound designing from bassist Dorian Wolf. These deeper aural valleys counterbalance the measure of her pronouncements, which more firmly stamp her music with purpose. Lyrically, the themes of Future Politics divulge her course in coming to terms with being an emotional creature driven by senses, up against cultural suppression—ideas largely shaped by Stelmanis’ observation of society while recently living in Mexico City. Stelmanis reveals a weary heart, contrarily through a projection of power and defiance, with a voice that ascends like it would in a hallowed hall.

Mostly captivating, the limitations of this mood space start to emerge when the feel of the music stagnates. It’s actually within the more minimal tone fabrics that her songs become most hypnotic, ebbing and flowing above its vaporous trails. “Beyond a Mortal” is an experimental potion with this effect, while the clever rhythm of “I’m a Monster” slips into a trance wormhole, offering transport to her cry, “Am I a fool to think that maybe/If I could shift these parts around/By catalysis or brawn/I’d get something back?”

Austra’s gravitas is felt through Stelmanis belting her operatic tenor—which is as clean cut as a soldier’s scalp and calls from the outer limits of her Moroder-esque production that’s both cubic and fluid. In unusual ways, she recalls Stevie Nicks with the dramatic flair of Madonna, ambitiously exploring structures as unorthodox as some of Björk’s dwellings and concepts as disruptive. (www.austramusic.com)

By Charles Steinberg

Childish Gambino

“Awaken, My Love!” (GLASSNOTE)

Donald Glover, the versatile mind behind Childish Gambino, is only now really discovering his voice. His third record, “Awaken, My Love!” is lush with spacey, psychedelic soul, and Glover’s various performances are often accentuated with inventive inflections, inhabiting each song like a character. Unfortunately, this record is hit or miss.

The opening song, “Me and Your Mama,” is arguably the best Childish Gambino track to date, and perhaps the expectations set up by its early release make the rest of “Awaken, My Love!” seem lackluster in comparison. If this were a double album, this disparity of quality, like the absurdly grating “California” or the ill-conceived “Zombies,” might be more bearable. As it is, they just take up too much time.

But when it works it really works. After the sulphuric stench of “California” dissipates, the chilly groove of “Terrified” saunters in, carrying the right amount of cheesy schmaltz with smooth versatility. The opening verse of the album closer “Stand Tall” features Glover’s strongest case for abandoning rap in favor of soulful crooning, his voice familiar and possessing a quality that projects subtle emotion and vulnerability.

Simply put, for all of its creative pomposity, “Awaken, My Love!” isn’t any better than Because the Internet, a solidly impressive record that brought Glover as close to bona fide in the rap community as possible. With that particular hurdle crossed, a period of expression is especially welcome. “Awaken, My Love!” is full of risks, but they don’t always pay off. (www.facebook.com/donaldglover)

By Cody Ray Shafer

Allison Crutchfield

Tourist in This Town (MERGE)

Although she is best known for being in the punk bands P.S. Eliot (with her sister Katie Crutchfield, now of Waxahatchee) and later Swearin’, Allison Crutchfield’s debut solo album (and her Merge debut) has very little to do with her stints in either of those bands. Instead, it’s useful to look back on her 2014 digital-only EP Lean In To It with Radiator Hospital’s Sam Cook-Parrott (who returns here, playing bass and guitar on four songs while adding his distinctive vocals to “The Marriage”) as the sonic blueprint for this LP. This time, Crutchfield and producer Jeff Zeigler (alongside other musicians such as Joey Doubek from Pinkwash and her aforementioned twin sister Katie) create a studio, widescreen version of the synth-pop-influenced sound of that home-recorded EP. If all this sounds like Crutchfield strategically commercializing her sound, then that’s a false narrative. It not only feels like a natural, organic progression, but it also features themes that have always been central to her songwriting. One of them is the idea of distance, travel, and a sense of place. Therefore, the fact that a song like “I Don’t Ever Wanna Leave California” is from the same pen as “Kenosha” by Swearin’ and Lean In To It’s “Berlin” makes so much sense. (www.allisoncrutchfield.bandcamp.com)

By Matthew Berlyant

DIANA

Familiar Touch (CULVERT MUSIC)

Familiar Touch , the sophomore album from Toronto band DIANA, sounds familiar. Its shadowy ’80s inspired synth-pop style, which wavers between energetic and sullen, is in-line with the throwback sound that has submerged contemporary pop music. The thick slap bass notes of “Moment of Silence,” the danceable groove of “Slipping Away,” and the sparkling keys of “Miharu” are poised to be blasted through the speakers of a DeLorean or to become part of the soundtrack to your own San Junipero adventure.

It’s what’s underneath these retro stylings that really makes stand out. From her struggles with the truth in “These Words” to the emotional pleas of “The Coward,” DIANA lead singer Carmen Elle’s graphic expressions of anxiety and heartbreak are enthralling. In “Helpless” she summarizes the psychological distress of having a crush, admitting defeat