Austra Release “Future Politics,” Video & Lead Single Off Forthcoming Album, Announce European Tour

Austra frontwoman Katie Stelmanis wants the group’s forthcoming album Future Politics to inspire in listeners “a commitment to replace the approaching dystopia.” We saw the initial threads of this ambition in “Utopia,” the single that they released in October. Now they’ve gone even further in the newly released title track and its accompanying video.

The latter begins with a statement from Stelmanis:

How do we find hope when things seem so bleak? For me, hope lies in the future. It lies in the potential of a future world that doesn’t exist yet; a world can be created only if we can imagine it. It’s time to build visions that are radically different from anything we’ve known before. It’s time for future politics.

The Allie Avital-directed video depicts two contrasting worlds: first, a gloomy society with muted colors and unhappy people in suits; then, one that is colorful and filled with satisfied folks who just laze about on cozy chairs in a parking lot.

It’s Jan. 20, 2017 and Jan. 19, 2021 versus a pleasant sort of anarchy. Or rather, an imagined set of “future politics” so radical that they’re difficult to fully comprehend. But Austra dare us to try. “We wanted to explore what a world might look like if our values were transformed, Stelmanis explained in a statement. “Instead of glorifying labor, maybe we could learn to glorify the act of doing absolutely nothing.”

In addition to the song and video, Austra announced the addition of European dates to their 2017 tour schedule. Find the updated tour list below, and up above, watch “Future Politics.” Look out for the full album Future Politics, slated for release on Jan. 20 via Domino.

Austra Tour Dates:

January
20 – Toronto, Ontario @ Mod Club
21 – Montreal, Quebec @ Fairmont Theatre
24 – Boston, Mass. @ The Sinclair
26 – Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Warsaw
27 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Union Transfer
28 – Washington, D.C. @ Black Cat
31 – Nashville, Tenn. @ Exit/In*

February
01 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Terminal West*
02 – New Orleans, La. @ Gasa Gasa*
03 – Dallas, Texas @ Trees*
04 – Austin, Texas @ Mohawk *
05 – El Paso, Texas @ Lowbrow Palace*
07 – Phoenix, Ariz. @ Valley bar*
08 – San Diego, Calif. @ Casbah*
09 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ El Rey Theater*
11 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Mezzanine*
13 – Portland, Ore. @ Holocene*
14 – Seattle, Wash. @ The Crocodile*
17 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ Triple Rock Social Club*
18 – Chicago, Ill. @ Thalia Hall*
19 – Detroit, Mich. @ Magic Stick*

March
04 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
06 – Hamburg, Germany @ Uebel & Gefährlich
07 – Warsaw, Poland @ NIEBO
08 – Berlin, Germany @ Astra
09 – Munich, Germany @ Muffatwerk (Ampere)
10 – Leipzig, Germany @ Conne Island
11 – Linz, Austria @ Posthof
12 – Vienna, Austria @ WUK
15 – Milan, Italy @ Biko Club
16 – Lausanne, Switzerland @ Les Docks
17 – Bern, Switzerland @ Dampfzentrale
18 – Cologne, Germany @ Gloria Theater
21 – Brighton, U.K. @ Patterns
22 – London, U.K. @ Village Underground (Convergence)
23 – Edinburgh, U.K. @ Summerhall
24 – Manchester, U.K. @ Deaf Institute
25 – Dublin, Ireland @ The Button Factory

(* = w/ The Range)