Stream or purchase COVERS II: http://smarturl.it/CoversII

LA singer-songwriter Greg Laswell has a rare gift for employing metaphor, mystery and honesty with equal acumen. Indeed, those that have spent time with his music over the years have had the distinct privilege of sharing profoundly personal moments with him – even as he left just enough open to interpretation.

Yet when he reimagined songs by the likes of Kate Bush, Kristin Hersh, and Echo & the Bunnymen for his 2009 album Covers, he revealed something else entirely by means of divulging his own most essential musical influences. A decade later, he is revisiting that undertaking with Covers II – which finds him this time communing with Depeche Mode, PJ Harvey, The Verve, even Peter Gabriel.

His 2018 album Next Time, which Popmatters said “brims with introspective imagery,” was arguably his most accomplished to date. But it was 2009’s Covers that still seemed like so much unfinished business. So, Covers II could not be coming at a better time, to reignite the dialogue about those that have influenced him and continue to do so.

The Rural Alberta Advantage's percussive folk songs about hometowns and heartbreak, and relentless tradition of touring have taken the trio from humble recognition amongst indie rock die-hards as "Canada's best unsigned band" to sold-out tours and devoted fans around the world with featured coverage from Spin Magazine, Pitchfork, The New York Times and Rolling Stone all taking note. The band has been nominated for two 2012 Juno Awards (Best New Group and Video of the Year for their song “Stamp”), long listed for the 2011 Polaris Award, and awarded the CBC Music Prize for Best Independent Artist in 2014.

The RAA has released three albums on Saddle Creek/Paper Bag Records: Hometowns (2009), Departing (2011) and Mended With Gold (2014). The trio of Nils Edenloff, Paul Banwatt and Robin Hatch will be hitting the road for set of road testing shows to preview the new material they’ve been working on and carve out these new songs in front of their fans in a live setting before returning home to record in between each run. The tour will swing through some of the band’s favourite venues across North America and Europe throughout 2016/2017.

Some words on The Rural Alberta Advantage:

““Regardless of your tastes, if you care about drums at all, Mended With Gold is a must-listen.” –Pitchfork

“The Rural Alberta Advantage are best seen live, where their acoustic crescendos and Nils Edenloff's Jeff Mangum-esque vocal acrobatics impress most.”  -Under The Radar

“There's something that just makes you want to root for them -- as Edenloff introduced "Tornado '87", a song about a twister that ran through Edmonton, one of the many Canadian bros in attendance shouted: "I LOVE TORNADOS!" That's making a connection.” – Coachella Festival coverage, Pitchfork

“The intensity of like “Stamp” and “Don’t Haunt This Place” lean on Banwatt’s marathon-runner stamina and fills, and it’s safe to say the band’s great melodies wouldn’t sound the same without him.” – “The 10 Best New Rhythm Sections”, Paste Magazine

“The crowd sang along to all the ‘oohs’ and danced to songs like The Deadroads and Frank, AB, even demanding an encore that would never materialize in a festival like this. Will this show rate among the weekend’s best? Too early to say, but it’s a strong contender.” – Montreal Gazette at Osheaga Festival

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