The Rural Alberta Advantage – Hometowns
Just to reassure everyone that I’ve grasped the Song, By Toad ethos, and that I fully understand the website’s mission of promoting Edinburgh’s blossoming new music scene; my first proper review as understudy for His Royal Toadiness is of an unsigned band from western Canada.
A new offshoot of the acoustic revival seems to be emerging. It’s one that sees indie-folk acts starting to use electronic instruments, but assimilating them into a ’folksy’ approach to the overall sound of the band.
We’re not talking about the Hi-NRG synth-pop of the Pet Shop Boys, or banks of gleaming Roland synths pretending to be the London Symphony Orchestra; but minimalist drones, bleeps and pulses played alongside acoustic guitars, traditional fiddles and so on.
Little, if anything, seems to be pre-programmed or sequenced, and the electronic instruments are often played live in the same spontaneous manner as the acoustic ones.
And this is where we find The Rural Alberta Advantage. They use a restricted palette; mainly just rattling drums, a smattering of strings, the aforementioned electronic keyboards and a nice line in male/female vocal interplay.
Nevertheless, I think their indie-folk credentials remain intact. This isn’t city music. It’s not urban. It’s not punk. There’s a tangible warmth and an enveloping darkness to the songs that evokes the country, with all that open space and big skies where I’m told you can actually see the stars. It really is rather good, if you ask me.
The Rural Alberta Advantage – Don’t Haunt This Place
The Rural Alberta Advantage – Frank, AB
The Rural Alberta Advantage – Sleep All Day
They definitely sound promising. The keyboard opening to Sleep All Day reminds me of Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo. And they have a few more tracks from this record available for download from their website.
there you go.