Calling Chin Up Buttercup a breakup album may be factually accurate but it’s woefully inadequate when describing the music aimed at reconstructing life after turbulent relationship heartache and loss.
The experiences used to flesh out each song cover the full cycle of grief, denial, acceptance etc., all while wrapped up in the need to bottle up any misery. The album title being a sardonic note on the social compulsion to plaster on a smile when everything inside is crumbling.
As Austra, the incandescent alter ego of Katie Stelmanis returns having dealt with those electric currents of grief and laid them to rest following the abrupt ending of her long-term relationship in early 2020. The emotional weight of that sudden erasure is seen everywhere.

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