Austra Resurfaces With the Hypnotic “Siren Song”
With shimmering synths and subaquatic imagery, Katie Stelmanis reminds us why we fell under her spell in the first place.
by Melissa Brassard
Photo by Lamia Karic
- Published on
There’s always been something elemental about Austra’s music — that sense of drama and gravity that makes every note feel like a natural phenomenon. Across her powerful discography, Katie Stelmanis has built a world where heartbreak becomes architecture, where synths shimmer like sunlight breaking through storm clouds, and her unmistakable voice rises above it all like a force of nature. A month and change ahead of her forthcoming album Chin Up Buttercup (out Nov. 14), she sounds both reborn and radiant — maybe even a little dangerous.
With “Siren Song,” Stelmanis dives deep into the mythic and emotional currents that have always defined her work. The track recalls the powerful energy of early singles like “Lose It,” the breakout anthem that first won us over while showcasing her operatic range and unearthly control.
Here, she channels heartbreak and longing into something oceanic, a shimmering, synth-soaked invocation that feels both ancient and futuristic. “If I sing a siren song, would you still pull towards the lyre?” she calls out, her voice floating through waves of bubbling arpeggios and pulsing bass lines that blur the line between seduction and surrender.
The accompanying video takes the metaphor literally, submerging Austra in a cheeky underwater dream sequence where she dances through clouds of bubbles, searching for connection in the depths. Co-produced with Kieran Adams (Diana, The Weather Station), “Siren Song” is vintage Austra — lush, yearning, and irresistibly hypnotic — a reminder that even when love leaves us gasping for air, beauty still exists below the surface.
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