Austra Returns With “Utopia”

Seeking human connection in a digital world

by Hayden Manders

Austra is back. The Toronto-based synth-pop group is set to release its first album since 2013. It's called Future Politics and will drop January 20 via Domino.

To kick the new era off, Austra debuted "Utopia," the album's first single. It's an atmospheric rumination on our relationship with technology and its trajectory. Lead singer, Katie Stelmanis, longs for a place that's not as minimal and emotionless as the one we currently live in. The video for the track reflects that with its stark white environment and careful shots of an Amazon Echo-like product that has its control over Stelmanis. She eats bugs with an unaffected gaze and dreams of human touch. 

In a statement announcing the album and single, Stelmanis says the project asks listeners for "a commitment to replace the approaching dystopia." She adds it's rooted in "not just hope in the future, but the idea that everyone is required to help write it, and the boundaries of what it can look like are both fascinating and endless. It's not about 'being political,' it's about reaching beyond boundaries, in every single field." 

As the song suggests, there isn't anything she wouldn't do to achieve that connection. How about you?