Album Review: heartcore | Au/Ra

This is a special day for I’m taking the chance to write about one of the most promising young artists out there, one I discovered back in 2017 through her single Outsiders. Au/ra’s music has been an alloy of bravery and fragility from the very beginning as well as a detailed commentary of the internet age and its consequences on humanity. Even though the artist claims the latest heartcore album is her debut, I can’t help but argue for 2021’s Soundtrack to an Existential Crisis still feels like her first complete piece of work including nine substantial tracks that cover a wide spectrum - some loud and single-worthy (Dead Girl, Screw Feelings) while others esoteric and sentimental (Heavy, U). Since this one is about heartcore, let’s not dwell on the past and get to work… Pressing PLAY

The opening The Descent re-introduces Au/Ra’s familiar electronic tension and ethereal vocals before a punch-like chorus catapults us from a sky-high castle to a bottomless pit inside the earth's core. It’s about trusting someone deeply enough to let them tear you down when their support system collapses. The synths and percussion reflect the anxiety of this sky dive before we land on CRACK! which holds the feeling of infidelity and turns it into a weapon inside a digital space ‘I wanna swing the axe, I wanna break the game’ where Au/Ra decides to play the game in her own terms for the first time. CRACK! is a menacing iron bull in a room full of mirrors. The dramatic This is character building comes as a powerful confrontation between the artist and her newfound adversary – the final boss in the first chapter of heartcore. An outstanding piece, vividly exhibiting the artist’s core characteristics: vulnerable vocal performance, huge beat drops and sharp electronic production. As we walk through {portal} we arrive in this dream plain called high fantasy where escapism is exalted and for good reason. In the verses, it takes the form of a glimmering pink liminal space while in the choruses it becomes a glass elevator that sends us to the sky at the speed of light. The following last heart </3 acts as a rest station to recover from this ride before the anxious SWAMP takes over to mix things up and redirect the album to the next unofficial chapter. Lo/Re is maybe the most literal, down-to-earth track up to this point with the artist casually expressing her fascination with fantasy and its importance in her life. The subtle ethnic touches in Lo/Re are greatly appreciated and need to be noted.

The ominous keys and definitive kick that launch KILLSWITCH have been evidence that something big was about to happen since its release back in April of ’26. The track is more radioactive than SWAMP, super-addictive and all that compressed in two minutes. If CRACK! was a revenge song, this one’s a f*ck you sequel where Au/Ra has found comfort in her power, respect for her energy to the point there’s no space for bad blood whatsoever. KILLSWITCH makes for one of the most significant parts of heartcore for obvious reasons. Immediate girl vibes perfume the room as the apology starts playing with melodies glitching like something broken, obsessed with the unspoken with Au/Ra chanting playfully over a whimsical beat – a light transition to the emotionally charged blue light. The reverberating vocals and delayed harp chords provide a celestial quality that might have you shedding tears as if you were standing before the gates of heaven. The artist speaks about the paradox of living inside immaterial, digital spaces and experiencing humanity in elusive ways that go against our primate need for connection. The heart-wrenching performance makes this a 10/10 and there’s no way around it. Dear Death sustains the sorrowful mood – this time poetically- and sees Au/Ra visualizing her final moments as a human body merging with the earth, slowly turning into an evergreen tree that will live on. While the track stands far from being grand instrumental-wise, the concept alone makes Dear Death highly cinematic.

The theme of nature flows seamlessly into the rock-driven princess Mononoke which obviously refers to Hayao Miyazaki’s homonymous 1997 fantasy film, an epic tale about the value of nature and the coexistence between its species. Even though the artist’s catalogue already contains Rock-inclined electronic music, princess Mononoke sees her touching new grounds with music more organic than anything before- and the final product is magnificent. Then we have Rewire, a sister to blue light - an artificial beating heart that cries for a reboot ‘Rewire my system, Delete the blame in my body’ in order to start anew. Rewire is a paradigm of how something so heavily electronic can be deeply sentimental and even painful. As Bjork once said ‘If a track lacks soul, it’s not the computer’s fault—it’s because the human behind it didn’t put it there’. Little before the end we have E-MOTION, an anthem about the awakening of the true self expressed through the signature digital topics of Au/Ra. E-MOTION is single-material for the masses and thus carries the album bravely until its very end before it passes the torch to the closing heartcore. This one’s a romantic review of what is lost and what is gained, coming off age and learning to live in peace with all one’s been through. Heartcore is the decision to end a challenging journey in good terms, from an impartial perspective of a person who’s maturing beautifully.

After this adventure of an album it’s plain to see why Au/RA promotes heartcore as her debut. She wipes the slate clean and proudly offers her inner world and lessons learned as a warrior returning from war, holding the iconic emerald sword in her bleeding fist. This 50-min LP is the spoil she brings home that contains loss, betrayal, adulthood and hope despite it all. Once more, Au/Ra keeps doing what she does best: deploying electronic music as a means to communicate in the digital age. It’s a privilege watching an artist of this talent and ability bloom and the Sanctum is proud to have followed this journey from the very beginning. Until next time, take care!

Listen to heartcore here:

https://open.spotify.com/album/7dWWVgDy4S6L06l3skL3EN