<span><span><span>- With equal parts glossy chamber pop and synth-driven singer-songwriter, </span><em>HiRUDiN, </em><span>the fourth record from Canadian composed </span><strong>Katie Austra Stelmanis</strong><span> aka Austra, is at its best when it wholeheartedly embraces its experimentation. Though it’s a far cry from her experimental peers like </span><strong>Zola Jesus</strong><span> and </span><strong>Perfume Genius</strong><span>, Austra creates music that depicts an intricate web of quirky pop.</span></span></span>
<span><span><span>Album opener and sophomore single </span><em>Anywayz</em><span> is bold and exciting: a display of delicate craftwork that showcases Austra’s beautiful voice and an array of flickering synthesisers that sound like nature is creeping in on her like tinnitus. These naturalistic touches continue throughout the record, finding places to fit in amongst the instrumentation and vocals. In a way, these samples camouflage themselves among the elements that Austra brings to her work, painting her image in the iridescent flair that </span><em>HiRUDiN’s </em><span>artwork alludes to. </span></span></span>
<span><span><span>I think it’s this natural orbit that keeps her sparse vocals grounded among instrumentation that bustles and progresses as the record floats by. On the track </span><em>How Did You Know?</em><span>, samples connect the simpler instrumentation with the emergence of horns and cello, courtesy of a classical improv group that contributed to the album. It’s a fitting anecdote for the ecosystem that this album becomes; like the accidental flow and growth of nature, the improvised, classical instrumentation weaves the record together in a fitting manner.</span></span></span>
<span><span><em>Risk It</em><span> introduces prominent vocal modification to the record. It alters </span><em>HiRUDiN’s</em><span> pace, invigorating a gleaming shine to Austra’s voice. It’s this brightness that separates Austra from the goth-pop she has been previously likened to. While she has the vocal ability of Zola Jesus, her starry-eyed embrace of a lighter sound reads more like </span><strong>Aurora</strong><span>.</span></span></span>
<span><span><span>Though moments like the children’s choir that kicks-off and recurs throughout </span><strong>Mountain Baby</strong><span> throw off the record’s pace, briefly, it’s saved by vivid instrumentals and a standout feature from </span><strong>SOPHIE</strong><span> collaborator </span><strong>Cecile Believe</strong><span> FKA </span><strong>Mozart’s Sister</strong><span>. </span><em>Mountain Baby</em><span> is truly the only moment in the record where Austra’s experimentation is anything less than brilliant.</span></span></span>
<span><span><span>It’s fitting that this record is named after that self-healing peptide released by leeches, hirudin: it ultimately ties together the themes of ecology and return to form that Austra embraces here. This is Austra’s </span><em>HiRUDiN</em><span>, and I’m here for it.</span></span></span>
<span><span><span>- Sean Tayler.</span></span></span>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2367316399/size=large/bgcol=f…; seamless><a href="http://austramusic.bandcamp.com/album/hirudin">HiRUDiN by Austra</a></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dlcqnZeO3bQ" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>