Seraphina Lotkhamnga on June 20th, 2013

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It’s been three years since Austra released their highly regarded debut “Feel It Break.” Fans of the Toronto-based band fronted by Katie Stelmanis won’t be let down by their sophomore release “Olympia.” Opting to ditch the programming and loops, Austra recorded live in the studio to reference everything from Trax Records classic cuts to Yazoo’s “Upstairs at Eric’s.” Stelmanis’ operatic vocals are still at the forefront, but the harmonies are richer and the instrumental arrangements sophisticated, clean and precise. And although it seemed impossible, songs like the latest single “Hurt Me Now” are even more melodramatic. Songs like “Painful Like” and “Home” exhibit the band’s ability to perfect bouyant dance music, inching them further away from the clichéd oddities and closer to artistry. Austra’s “Olympia”came out this week via Domino.

||| Stream: “Hurt Me Now”

||| Also: “Painful Like” and “Home”

||| Live: Austra plays Sunday at the Troubadour with Bestial Mouths. 

Photo by Norman Wong

||| Watch: Check out their That Go-directed video for “Home.”