Austra

For me, the best thing about the underground music movement is all the opportunities for fusion between genres that have not been explored before.  Toronto group Austra is poised to be a jewel in a diadem of these genre-bending indie groups.  Lead songwriter and vocalist Katie Stelmanis is a classically trained soprano opera singer and her rich, evocative vibrato is possibly one of the most spellbinding voices in the indie music realm.  But Austra is very decidedly a new wave electronica band.  The band's lead single "Lose It" from their new album Feel It Break is a dark anthemic piece.  Their electronica is decidedly melancholy, but also claims a complementary sprightly atmosphere.  Be sure not to miss the album's closing piano masterpiece "The Beast," a sophisticated and gorgeous track dripping with all the emotion of Stelmanis' desperate vocals.  Check the band out on MySpace here.