Austra Chin Up Buttercup
Austra's Chin Up Buttercup stakes a claim as a grief-to-dancefloor record that reframes heartbreak as catharsis, and critics largely agree it succeeds. Across six professional reviews the record earned a 75.25/100 consensus score, with reviewers repeatedly pointing to a synthesis of Eurodance revival, operatic vocal drama, and wry lyrical bite. Songs such as “Math Equation”, “Amnesia”, and “Good Riddance” emerge as the album's clearest highlights, praised for marrying euphoric production to bittersweet, incisive lines.
Reviewers consistently note Katie Stelmanis's evolution of sound from intimate piano moments to maximal club propulsion, making the best tracks on Chin Up Buttercup into small theatrical set pieces. Pitchfork and Tinnitist single out “Math Equation” for its Scandipop bounce and clapback energy, while AllMusic and Song Bar emphasize “Amnesia” and “Good Riddance” for their emotional range, from cinematic openings to quiet acceptance. Themes critics mention across reviews include dance as catharsis, the duality of pleasure and pain, sapphic relationships, and a persistent bittersweet irony that turns rupture into revelation.
Not all notes are wholly celebratory - The Line of Best Fit and Northern Transmissions offer more tempered takes, pointing to occasional structural experiments and fan-focused framing that keep the record from unqualified triumph. Still, the critical consensus suggests Chin Up Buttercup is worth listening to for those who want dance-pop that confronts grief with humor, resilience, and sting; the collection functions as both defiant party music and a careful study in transformation, leaving room for debate while marking a confident new chapter for Austra.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Math Equation
5 mentions
"Stelmanis' intimate, immediate songwriting shines on "Math Equation,""— AllMusic
Amnesia
3 mentions
""Amnesia" sets the album's tone -- or rather, tones -- starting in the blast zone of loss"— AllMusic
The Hopefulness of Dawn
2 mentions
"The album’s most maximalist moment, however, arrives halfway through its longest track, "The Hopefulness of Dawn""— Pitchfork
Stelmanis' intimate, immediate songwriting shines on "Math Equation,"
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Amnesia
Math Equation
Siren Song
Chin Up Buttercup
Fallen Cloud
Blindsided
Think Twice
Look Me in the Eye
The Hopefulness of Dawn
Good Riddance
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 4 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Austra's Katie Stelmanis turns rupture into revelation on Chin Up Buttercup, where the best songs - “Amnesia”, “Blindsided”, and “Good Riddance” - trade anguish for strange consolation. Her voice moves from heartrending piano balladry to operatic peaks and euphoric club propulsion, so the best tracks on Chin Up Buttercup feel both intimately wrecked and defiantly buoyant. The reviewer's eye lingers on songwriting that is immediate and unsparing, and those standout moments pin down why these songs feel like the album's emotional center. This is music that finds salvation in feeling, and it makes the case for these tracks as the album's highlights.
Key Points
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Good Riddance is the best song because it pairs weighty realizations with an unguarded soprano that crystallizes the album's emotional payoff.
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The album's core strengths are intimate songwriting, a blend of dancefloor catharsis and operatic vocal peaks, and honest vulnerability.
Themes
Critic's Take
Austra’s Chin Up Buttercup is a triumphant, club-ready meditation on heartbreak that often finds its best tracks in the album’s dance-floor pivots. The review repeatedly praises “Math Equation” for its bouncy, Scandipop rhythm and sharp opening line, positioning it among the best tracks on Chin Up Buttercup. Equally celebrated are “The Hopefulness of Dawn” and “Fallen Cloud,” the former for its maximalist Ibiza-ready turn and the latter for its MDMA-like jubilation, both examples of how Stelmanis spins grief into ecstatic production. Briefly, the title track “Chin Up Buttercup” is noted as a bold, effective structural experiment that obliterates sadness for a moment.
Key Points
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The best song, "The Hopefulness of Dawn," earns its place by delivering a maximalist, Ibiza-ready payoff that ties the album together.
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The album’s core strength is converting heartbreak into euphoric, club-ready synth-pop while evolving Austra’s established sound.
Themes
Critic's Take
Austra’s Chin Up Buttercup turns grief into a dance-floor manifesto, and the best songs - notably “Math Equation” and “Amnesia” - do that work with ruthless clarity. Sterdan’s review revels in Stelmanis’s operatic delivery and Eurodance production, noting how “Math Equation” mixes a catchy clapback with bittersweet pleading and how “Amnesia” opens cinematically. The writer frames the album as a grief record you can move to, equal parts euphoric synths and mournful lyrics, which is why those tracks stand out as the best tracks on Chin Up Buttercup.
Key Points
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The best song, "Math Equation", is best because it pairs a catchy clapback with vivid, sapphic heartbreak lyrics.
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The album’s core strength is marrying euphoric Eurodance production with mournful, cathartic lyrics to make grief danceable.
Themes
Critic's Take
In this review Matt Young frames Austra’s Chin Up Buttercup as an album that turns heartbreak into a dance-floor exorcism, with the bruised catharsis of “Math Equation” and the trance-tinged sweep of “Siren Song” standing out as the best tracks. He hears the record split between propulsive '90s eurodance drama and quieter, confessional passages, and it is that tension which makes the best songs linger. The closer “Good Riddance” is singled out as the point of acceptance, the moment the record finally puts the mess behind it. Young’s language is candid and slightly sardonic, treating these songs as both armour and confession, which explains why listeners seeking the best songs on Chin Up Buttercup will be drawn to those emotionally direct moments.
Key Points
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The best song is notable for raw, wounded lyrics paired with dance-floor release, exemplified by "Math Equation".
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The album's core strength is turning grief into euphoric electronica that balances confession with propulsive melodies.