Olympia (Austra album)

In an interview for the music blog Stereogum, Stelmanis said that she began writing Olympia while still touring in support of the band's debut studio album, Feel It Break.{{cite web |last=Rachel |first=T. Cole |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1349611/austra-on-new-album-olympia-and-avoiding-the-sophomore-slump/franchises/interview/ |title=Q&A: Austra On New Album Olympia And Avoiding The Sophomore Slump |website=Stereogum |date=May 14, 2013 |access-date=January 3, 2020}} According to her, writing Olympia took about a year, and the actual recording, in the studio in Michigan, four to five weeks. Her vocals were recorded in Montreal with Damian Taylor and then sent to be mixed to Tom Elmhirst. Stelmanis told Interview magazine that the album is titled after the newborn child of the owners of the studio where they recorded, where Austra was "the first band into the studio after the baby was born".{{cite web |last=Reese |first=Nathan |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/austra-olympia |title=Austra Mounts Olympia |work=Interview |date=June 17, 2013 |access-date=July 1, 2013}}

She also told Stereogum that the band was more focused on the quality of the sound than before and that every song on Olympia "was hand-picked in a very thoughtful way." On various occasions she noted that Olympia was a more collaborative record than its predecessor, which, in her own words, "was pretty much a bedroom project".{{cite web |last=Carew |first=Anthony |url=http://altmusic.about.com/od/interviews/a/Katie-Stelmanis-Of-Austra-2013.htm |title=Interview: Katie Stelmanis of Austra |website=About.com |date=May 23, 2013 |access-date=July 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615005901/http://altmusic.about.com/od/interviews/a/Katie-Stelmanis-Of-Austra-2013.htm |archive-date=June 15, 2013}}

Stelmanis states that the primary inspiration for Olympia were the "early house music tracks" like "Chicago house and Detroit" and Marshall Jefferson's song "Move Your Body" in particular to which Stelmanis was listening to a lot. She was inspired by the fact that such music, according to her, was created without any electronic instruments and therefore actually played (as opposed to computer-generated music where computers generate the sounds of the composition – which was also the case with their previous album Feel It Break{{cite news |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-beat-and-the-groove-i_b_3479173 |title=The Beat and the Groove: Interview with AUSTRA's Katie Stelmanis |website=HuffPost |first=J.L. |last=Sirisuk |date=June 21, 2013 |access-date=January 3, 2020}}). This inspired the band to play live instruments, therefore Olympia has a more organic and natural feel.{{cite web |last=Young |first=Martyn |url=https://www.musicomh.com/features/interviews/qa-austra |title=Q&A: Austra |website=musicOMH |date=June 11, 2013 |access-date=July 1, 2013}} Stelmanis also cited Portishead's album Third as an influence.{{cite web |url=http://www.7digital.com/features/interviews/austra |title=Interview: Austra |website=7digital |date=June 2013 |access-date=July 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622014641/http://www.7digital.com/features/interviews/austra |archive-date=June 22, 2013}}

{{Album ratings

| ADM = 7.5/10{{cite web |url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/5587/Austra-Olympia.aspx |title=Olympia by Austra reviews |website=AnyDecentMusic? |access-date=December 27, 2018}}

| MC = 76/100

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web |last=Phares |first=Heather |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/olympia-mw0002506316 |title=Olympia – Austra |website=AllMusic |access-date=June 17, 2013}}

| rev2 = Clash

| rev2Score = 8/10{{cite web |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/austra-olympia |title=Austra – Olympia |last=Lanfear |first=Hannah |date=June 10, 2013 |work=Clash |access-date=February 21, 2019}}

| rev3 = Consequence of Sound

| rev3score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web |last=Manning |first=Erin |url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/06/album-review-austra-olympia/ |title=Album Review: Austra – Olympia |website=Consequence of Sound |date=June 21, 2013 |access-date=June 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920152015/http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/06/album-review-austra-olympia/ |archive-date=September 20, 2013}}

| rev4 = Drowned in Sound

| rev4Score = 8/10{{cite web |url=http://drownedinsound.com/releases/17691/reviews/4146511 |title=Album Review: Austra – Olympia |last=Lukowski |first=Andrzej |date=June 10, 2013 |website=Drowned in Sound |access-date=February 21, 2019 |archive-date=September 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927042355/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/17691/reviews/4146511 |url-status=dead }}

| rev5 = Exclaim!

| rev5Score = 9/10{{cite web |url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/austra-olympia |title=Austra – Olympia |last=Lau |first=Melody |date=June 18, 2013 |work=Exclaim! |access-date=February 21, 2019}}

| rev6 = The Guardian

| rev6Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/13/austra-olympia-review |title=Austra: Olympia – review |work=The Guardian |access-date=June 13, 2013 |first=Rebecca |last=Nicholson |date=June 13, 2013}}

| rev7 = NME

| rev7Score = 7/10{{cite web |last=Stevens |first=Jenny |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/austra/14518 |title=Austra – 'Olympia' |work=NME |date=June 17, 2013 |access-date=June 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923003216/http://www.nme.com/reviews/austra/14518 |archive-date=September 23, 2013}}

| rev8 = Now

| rev8score = {{rating|3|5|full=Noto Color- N.svg|empty=Blue square N.PNG|rating=N}}{{cite news |url=https://nowtoronto.com/music/album-reviews/austra-olympia/ |title=Austra – Olympia |last=Trapunski |first=Richard |newspaper=Now |volume=32 |issue=42 |date=June 20, 2013 |issn=0712-1326 |access-date=January 3, 2020}}

| rev9 = Paste

| rev9Score = 7.0/10{{cite web |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2013/06/austra-olympia.html |title=Austra: Olympia |last=Cosores |first=Philip |date=June 18, 2013 |work=Paste |access-date=February 21, 2019}}

| rev10 = Pitchfork

| rev10Score = 7.2/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18195-austra-olympia/|title=Austra: Olympia|website=Pitchfork|last=St. Asaph|first=Katherine|date=June 19, 2013|access-date=June 24, 2013}}

}}

Olympia received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 76, based on 26 reviews.{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/olympia/austra |title=Olympia by Austra Reviews and Tracks |website=Metacritic |access-date=July 1, 2013}}

The album was a longlisted nominee for the 2014 Polaris Music Prize.{{cite web |last=Villeneuve |first=Nicole |url=http://www.aux.tv/2014/06/polaris-music-prize-announces-2014-long-list/ |title=Polaris Music Prize announces 2014 long list |publisher=Aux |date=June 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915182808/http://www.aux.tv/2014/06/polaris-music-prize-announces-2014-long-list/ |archive-date=September 15, 2015}}

{{Track listing

| total_length = 45:44

| all_writing = Austra

| title1 = What We Done?

| length1 = 5:00

| title2 = Forgive Me

| length2 = 3:20

| title3 = Painful Like

| length3 = 3:59

| title4 = Sleep

| length4 = 4:32

| title5 = Home

| length5 = 4:15

| title6 = Fire

| length6 = 4:42

| title7 = I Don't Care (I'm a Man)

| length7 = 1:11

| title8 = We Become

| length8 = 4:22

| title9 = Reconcile

| length9 = 3:31

| title10 = Annie (Oh Muse, You)

| length10 = 3:47

| title11 = You Changed My Life

| length11 = 3:11

| title12 = Hurt Me Now

| length12 = 3:54

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = iTunes Store bonus track{{cite web |url=https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/olympia/id650009899 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151112212652/https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/olympia/id650009899 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 12, 2015 |title=Olympia by Austra |website=iTunes Store |date=June 11, 2013 |location=Canada |access-date=June 24, 2013}}

| title13 = Mayan Drums

| note13 = with Gina X

| length13 = 3:41

| total_length = 49:25

}}

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Olympia.{{cite AV media notes |title=Olympia |type=liner notes |others=Austra |publisher=Paper Bag Records |year=2013 |id=PAPER078}}

• Katie Stelmanis – vocals, synths, programming, piano, recorder
• Maya Postepski – keyboards, programming, percussion, drums, marimba, organ
• Dorian Wolf – bass, synth

{{Div col}}

• Romy Lightman – backing vocals
• Sari Lightman – backing vocals
• Ryan Wonsiak – saxophone, keyboards
• Alia Hamdon-O'Brien – flute
• Anna-Sophia Vukovich – violin
• Ewan Kay – trombone

{{Div col end}}

{{Div col}}

• Austra – production
• Mike Haliechuk – additional production
• Bill Skibbe – recording {{small|(tracks 1, 3–12)}}
• Leon Taheny – recording {{small|(track 2)}}; additional recording {{small|(all tracks)}}
• Damian Taylor – vocal production, vocal recording
• Tom Elmhirst – mixing
• Ben Baptie – mix engineering
• Joe Visciano – mixing assistance
• Guy Davie – mastering

{{Div col end}}

• Norman Wong – all photography

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Austra}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2013 albums

Category:Austra (band) albums

Category:Domino Recording Company albums

Category:Paper Bag Records albums