When I bought the Rural Alberta Advantage’s Hometowns back in November, I had to order it from the band’s website, since it wasn’t yet available in stores, or even on iTunes. When it arrived a week or so later, it was a home-burned CD slipped inside a floppy plastic sleeve.
But these once-humble resources are about to change. Yesterday, the group announced that it had signed to the American indie powerhouse Saddle Creek, who will rerelease Hometowns in July. The band has been on a steady upward swing over the last few months, so this announcement doesn’t come as a huge surprise. And if anyone in Canada deserves a little more exposure, it’s the RAA.
Hometowns is a gorgeously nostalgic love letter to the band’s home province of Alberta, resembling a Canadian version of Sufjan Stevens’s (evidently aborted) 50 states project (song titles include “Frank, AB” and “Edmonton”). But unlike Stevens’s academic approach to regional history, the RAA is emotional and autobiographical. The album begins with “The Ballad of the RAA,” which documents the band’s relocation from Alberta to Toronto (where all the members now live). The first line—”We unbearably left the prairies”—sets the album’s pining tone, which is filled with every bit as much longing and regret as any romantic confessional (Blood on the Tracks, Sea Change, 808s & Heartbreak, etc.).
Musically, the band most closely recalls Neutral Milk Hotel, mainly because singer Nils Edenloff sounds a whole heck of a lot like Jeff Mangum—he has the same nasal drawl, and, like the legendary NMH frontman, doesn’t allow himself to be constrained by a limited vocal range. He writes singing parts with seemingly no regard for his technical ability, and almost pops a blood vessel as he hollers out the high notes in “The Deathbridge in Lethbridge.” This might sound like an insult, but it isn’t at all—Edenloff’s impassioned vocals are the crux of the RAA’s sound, giving urgency to what otherwise might be considered slightly repetitive subject matter.
The arrangements on Hometowns centre around Edenloff’s furiously strummed acoustic guitars, offset against the sombre synth drones of keyboardist Amy Cole. But the real star is drummer Paul Banwatt, whose creative and off-kilter rhythms ensure that the band sounds like no one else—check out the dense syncopation of “Sleep All Day,” or the clattering dance beat of “The Deadroads.”
Ultimately, though, the appeal of the RAA all comes back to the lyrics. The band’s homesickness is contagious (pandemic level 5!), and Hometowns is the kind of album that makes you nostalgic for a life that isn’t even yours. If you haven’t heard it, be sure to pick up the album now—this could be your last chance to say “Yeah, I was into them before they were famous.”
But these once-humble resources are about to change. Yesterday, the group announced that it had signed to the American indie powerhouse Saddle Creek, who will rerelease Hometowns in July. The band has been on a steady upward swing over the last few months, so this announcement doesn’t come as a huge surprise. And if anyone in Canada deserves a little more exposure, it’s the RAA.
Hometowns is a gorgeously nostalgic love letter to the band’s home province of Alberta, resembling a Canadian version of Sufjan Stevens’s (evidently aborted) 50 states project (song titles include “Frank, AB” and “Edmonton”). But unlike Stevens’s academic approach to regional history, the RAA is emotional and autobiographical. The album begins with “The Ballad of the RAA,” which documents the band’s relocation from Alberta to Toronto (where all the members now live). The first line—”We unbearably left the prairies”—sets the album’s pining tone, which is filled with every bit as much longing and regret as any romantic confessional (Blood on the Tracks, Sea Change, 808s & Heartbreak, etc.).
Musically, the band most closely recalls Neutral Milk Hotel, mainly because singer Nils Edenloff sounds a whole heck of a lot like Jeff Mangum—he has the same nasal drawl, and, like the legendary NMH frontman, doesn’t allow himself to be constrained by a limited vocal range. He writes singing parts with seemingly no regard for his technical ability, and almost pops a blood vessel as he hollers out the high notes in “The Deathbridge in Lethbridge.” This might sound like an insult, but it isn’t at all—Edenloff’s impassioned vocals are the crux of the RAA’s sound, giving urgency to what otherwise might be considered slightly repetitive subject matter.
The arrangements on Hometowns centre around Edenloff’s furiously strummed acoustic guitars, offset against the sombre synth drones of keyboardist Amy Cole. But the real star is drummer Paul Banwatt, whose creative and off-kilter rhythms ensure that the band sounds like no one else—check out the dense syncopation of “Sleep All Day,” or the clattering dance beat of “The Deadroads.”
Ultimately, though, the appeal of the RAA all comes back to the lyrics. The band’s homesickness is contagious (pandemic level 5!), and Hometowns is the kind of album that makes you nostalgic for a life that isn’t even yours. If you haven’t heard it, be sure to pick up the album now—this could be your last chance to say “Yeah, I was into them before they were famous.”
