CREDIT: KID WITH CAMERA
Austra will be making a stop in London for a show at Rum Runners on September 26.

I write about random things a lot. I write a lot about random things. I've been thinking a lot about band names recently, and more and more I'm concluding that while there can be a perfect band name for any given group, it is strictly the territory of serendipity.

Do you remember Vanilla Fudge? What is it about that name screamed perfection to Mark Stein back in the 1960s? That would be a difficult name to try to brand now, particularly when you consider all of the things that could potentially surface in Internet search engines.

You may be surprised how many influential bands changed their name before becoming successful. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were once Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem. The Yardbirds used to call themselves Metropolis Blues Quartet, and Nirvana was once Pen Cap Chew. Queen was once called Smile, and even The Beatles were The Quarrymen for a time.

In fact, the only guideline for good taste I think I've realized is that those same people responsible for naming bands should not be allowed to name their own children... but that is a different story for a different day.

This week at Fanshawe we're encouraging everyone to get active while the last few rays of summer sun shine down on the city, and in that spirit I propose a field trip to Rum Runners (176 Dundas St.) to dance — the club welcomes Austra on tour with Doldrums on September 26.

Formed in 2009 in Toronto, Austra is the combination of Katie Stelmanis (vocals, keys), Maya Postepski (drums) and Dorian Wolf (bass) and the result of three kindred musicians coming together from other bands. Rounded out live by backing singers Sari and Romy Lightman and Ryan Wonsiak, the group is yet a new face in pop music, driving mainstream focus into some of indie's darker places.

There are a few reasons you may recognize the name Austra, largely to do with the critical acclaim they've enjoyed since releasing their first full-length album Feel It Break last year. The album was shortlisted for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize and made the top of several notable year-end lists, including being named the top album of the year by the Toronto Star and New York Magazine.

There's nothing formulaic about Austra; plotting the album against the spectrum of popular music in Canada can prove to be difficult, far more so than merely zeroing in on point where electronica meets pop. Fans of dance may feel themselves compelled to move, while fans of Florence + the Machine will surely be attracted to Stelmanis' powerful vocals and cool delivery. Austra marries music and lyrics in ways that will appeal to hipsters and squares alike, mathematics be damned.

"I think when you are writing music, especially in a time like this when anybody can just get a computer, get a guitar and kind of figure something out and write a song, I think that the difficulty is more about writing music creatively," Stelmanis explained to Max Dax of Electronic Beats in June. "My main objective in music has kind of always been to do something very different. I was always interested in kind of like pushing boundaries and exploring territories that other people weren't exploring."

For more on Austra or for information about shows in London and the surrounding area, visit them online at austramusic.com or follow on Twitter @austratalks. Their gig on September 26 at Rum Runners with Doldrums is 19-plus, and tickets are $19.75 available online through Ticketmaster or in person from Tequila Rose or Grooves downtown.

And for more of the latest music news, reviews and more, consider following this column on Twitter @fsu_bobbyisms. Can you guess who Jimmy James & The Blue Flames used to be? I'm out of words.