Doomsday Looks Pretty Amusing in Austra’s ‘Future Politics’

Austra, the moody electropop outfit fronted by Katie Stelmanis, are set to return next month with Future Politics, their first full-length since 2013's Olympia. After offering a glimpse into "Utopia," Stelmanis and company have unveiled a video for the title track. It opens with a timely question — "How do we find hope when things seem so bleak?" — and a hypothesis that reads, in part, "It's time we build visions that are radically different from anything we've known before." What follows is a stunning glimpse of such apocalyptic visions, framed by the rays of the setting sun: disaffected kids roller-blading by the train tracks, running though the urban sprawl and, above all else, Stelmanis peering down at the city through billowing smoke clouds. With a future that bright, who needs shades?

Watch the video below, and scroll down for Austra's upcoming tour behind the album, which kicks off January 20 in their native Toronto.

Austra's new album, Future Politics, is out January 20 on Domino. Pre-order it here.

AUSTRA on TOUR
Jan. 20 — Toronto, Ontario @ Mod Club
Jan. 21 — Montreal, Québec @ Fairmont Theatre
Jan. 24 — Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
Jan. 26 — Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
Jan. 27 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Jan. 28 — Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Jan. 31 — Nashville, TN @ Exit/In *
Feb. 1 — Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West *
Feb. 2 — New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa *
Feb. 3 — Dallas, TX @ Trees *
Feb. 4 — Austin, TX @ Mohawk *
Feb. 5 — El Paso, TX 2 Lowbrow Palace *
Feb. 7 — Phoenix, AZ @ Velley Bar *
Feb. 8 — San Diego, CA @ Casbah *
Feb. 9 — Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theater *
Feb. 11 — San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine *
Feb. 13 — Portland, OR @ Holocene *
Feb. 14 — Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile *
Feb. 17 — Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club *
Feb. 18 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
Feb. 19 — Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick *
Mar. 4 — Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
Mar. 6 — Hamburg, Germany @ Uebel & Gefährlich
Mar. 7 — Warsaw, Poland @ NIEBO
Mar. 8 — Berlin, Germany @ Astra
Mar. 9 — Munich, Germany @ Muffatwerk (Ampere)
Mar. 10 — Leipzig, Germany @ Conne Island
Mar. 11 — Linz, Austria @ Posthof
Mar. 12 — Vienna, Austria @ WUK
Mar. 15 — Milan, Italy @ Biko Club
Mar. 16 — Lausanne, Switzerland @ Les Docks
Mar. 17 — Bern, Switzerland @ Dampfzentrale
Mar. 18 — Cologne, Germany @ Gloria Theater
Mar. 21 — Brighton, England @ Patterns
Mar. 22 — London, England @ Village Underground (Convergence)
Mar. 23 — Edinburgh, England @ Summerhall
Mar. 24 — Manchester, England @ Deaf Institute
Mar. 25 — Dublin, Ireland @ The Button Factory

* w/ The Range