Austra have been keeping the sounds of their forthcoming second album very close. Olympia is due out June 18, via Domino, but until now we’ve only had a single song to mull over — the upbeat, operatic “Home” and its fittingly intense video. With a band as dramatic as this electroni-pop sextet, small doses go a long way, but the arrival of “Painful Like” feels overdue. The song was recorded live in the studio with all hands on deck, inspired by the full-band approach that generated some of the Chicago house scene’s earliest hits. The bubbling, crystalline sounds that color the song belie the fact that it’s meant for the dance floor, but Katie Stelmanis’ lyrics are, according to a statement, inspired by “the disillusionment of growing up gay in a small town and finding solace in the arms of a lover.” Similarly, or not at all, if you’re disillusioned that your day job doesn’t allow you to turn your desk over and dance your ass off, throw on the headphones and take some solace in “Painful Like.”
Austra tour dates:
June 2 – Dublin, IE @ Forbidden Fruit
June 6 – Zurich, CH @ Plaza
June 7 – Luzerne, CH @ Sudpol
June 8 – Yverdon-les Bains, SE @ L’Amalgame
June 10 – Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet
June 11 – Gent, BE @ DOKBox
June 12 – Paris, FR @ Nouveau Casino (SOLD OUT)
June 14 – Berlin, DE @ Lido (SOLD OUT)
June 17 – London, UK @ Hoxton Bar Grill (SOLD OUT)
June 20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg ^ (SOLD OUT)
June 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
June 26 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
July 18 – Nijmegen, Netherlands @ Valkhof Festival
July 19 – Ferropolis, DE @ Melt Festival
July 21 – Suffolk, UK @ Latitude Festival
July 25 – Madrid, ES @ Nasti Club
July 26 – Barcelos, PT @ Milhoes De Festa Festival
July 30 – Milan, Italy @ Magnolia
July 31 – Padova, Italy @ Radar Festival
August 1 – Feldkirch, AT @ PoolBar Festival
August 2 – Salzburg, AT @ Stuck! Festival
August 3 – Katowice, PL @ OFF Festival
August 4 – Katowice, PL @ OFF Festival (DJ)
August 7 – Luxembourg @ EXIT 07
August 9 – Gothenburg, SE @ Way Out West Festival
August 10 – Helsinki, FI @ Flow Festival
August 14 – St Malo, FR @ La Route Du Rock Festival
August 17 – Biddinghuizen, NL @ Lowlands Festival
August 30 – Detroit, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom *
August 31 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *
September 1 – Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock *
September 4 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos *
September 5 – Portland, OR @ MusicFest NW
September 10 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom *
September 12 – Dallas, TX @ Trees *
September 13 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk *
September 14 – Houston, TX @ Fitzgeralds *
September 15 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks *
September 17 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl *
September 18 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle *
September 19 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat *
September 20 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
September 22 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall *
September 24 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall *
November 25 – London, UK @ Koko
Also Read
New Music: Austra – “Future Politics”
^ w/ Mozart’s Sister
* w/ DIANA
