Though she was classically trained as a child, Katie Stelmanis received an equally valuable musical education in the late-’00s Toronto DIY scene, where she played in punk bands, guested on Fucked Up records and released an album of irreverent chamber pop. But when she rebranded herself with her middle name, Austra, in 2009, she recast her dramatic, operatic voice in a darkly elegant atmosphere of ultraviolet synths and throbbing, strobe-lit beats. By embracing her inner goth-club diva, Stelmanis fearlessly cuts straight to the heart of the matter, whether addressing urban malaise (“Utopia”) or queer desire (“Risk It”).