Austra – Math Equation
Katie Stelmanis returns as Austra with “Math Equation,” the first single from her upcoming album “Chin Up Buttercup,” due November 14th via Domino. Her fifth studio album and first since 2020’s “HiRUDiN” emerges from a devastating 2020 breakup that left her “completely blindsided.”
“Math Equation” delivers icy synth work and peaceful beats that build toward club-ready euphoria. The track captures the album’s central theme: “the alienating feeling of being heartbroken in a world that’s awkward and inconvenienced by your pain.”
Her classically trained voice—operatic and commanding—carries lyrics born from what she calls “poetic fragments” written during her emotional breakdown.
Trevor Blumas directed the accompanying video, which matches the song’s theatrical energy. Stelmanis describes embracing “the character of the psycho creep, consumed by longing” rather than pursuing traditional healing narratives. The result is an album that moves through madness without apologizing for it.
“Math Equation” sets up “Chin Up Buttercup” as grief you can dance to, mixing mournful lyrics with euphoric production that acknowledges how contrasting emotions feel indistinguishable in your body.
Tracklist:
- Amnesia
- Math Equation
- Siren Song
- Chin Up Buttercup
- Fallen Cloud
- Blindsided
- Think Twice
- Look Me in the Eye
- The Hopefulness of Dawn
- Good Riddance
