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Comprising frontman and guitarist Nils Edenloff, backing vocalist and keyboard player Amy Cole and drummer Paul Banwatt, The Rural Alberta Advantage are widely regarded as one of the best kept secrets in indie rock. They’ve been compared to the likes of Band of Horses and Bright Eyes, and have released three full-length albums to date, as well as having toured internationally. They formed in 2005, after hosting an unsuccessful open stage at a club in Cabbagetown, Toronto; the bar had been there in one form or another for 120 years, but just a year under the stewardship of The RAA saw it go out of business (it’s now a Tim Horton’s). After releasing an early, scratchy demo, and then an EP, the trio quickly forged their signature sound; amongst their distinguishing characteristics are Edenloff’s powerful vocals, the male-female back-and-forth between himself and Cole, and Banwatt’s impressive drumming; his style sounds jazz-influenced, and is key to the rousing, exhilarating style of indie rock that the band play.
In support of their third record, 2014’s ‘Mended with Gold’, they toured both North America and Europe, playing at a host of intimate venues; their sets ranged between the full-on rollicking rock of their records and low-key acoustic songs, often played within the audience.
Life is tough for touring bands - falling revenues mean that their often forced to get by on a shoestring budget, sleeping on floors and worrying about the viability of their current lifestyle in the long term - but at least The Rural Alberta Advantage have a sense of humour about it. Asked in an interview how they came to form, they responded that they used to host an open mic night at a club in Cabbagetown in downtown Toronto, which was so sparsely attended that the venue, over one hundred years old, closed within a year of their night starting up. As the trio themselves put it, though, “we’ll close as many venues as it takes.”
The truth is, though, that they should be filling them; their rollicking brand of indie rock - they make quite the racket for a three-piece - is a genuine thrill, and has won them critical acclaim the world over, even if they’re not quite packing out rooms just yet. That might not be a bad thing, though; at a show in Manchester a few years back, it allowed them to play their encore amongst the crowd, totally unplugged, securing a real connection with those who did attend. With a new album, Mended with Gold, set for September, they’ve lined up a slew of UK dates for November - they’re well worth a look.
Joeg_67
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