Lee's playlist

So Electric: When It Was Now (The Remixes)

If So (Magic Man Remix)

01 dead wrong intro [the notorious b.i.g. vs. the xx]

05 one more chance for a heart to skip a beat [the notorious b.i.g. vs. the xx]

The Black Dirt Sessions

Twenty Miles

Shine on Me

DDPesh - Nasty Feel (B.I.G. vs. MGMT vs. Justice)

Mignonette

At the Beach

After a breakthrough 2009 that saw them earn comparisons to The Arcade Fire and Neutral Milk Hotel, capture SXSW buzz playing on a bill with Grizzly Bear, sell out a tour, sign to Saddle Creek, and score a “Breaking Out” featuring in SPIN, The Rural Alberta Advantage are poised to explode in 2011 with the March 1 release of Departing.

With their new album, the band further refines the exuberant guitar work; everything-on-the-table singing; songwriting full of conviction and detail; and majestic, keyboard-sprinkled arrangements that have won them so many fans. Departing strings together themes of small towns, Canadian fall and winter, break ups, and redemption and serves as a companion piece to their beloved debut album Hometowns. Highlights include the affecting “North Star,” the stark regret of “Tornado,” and the storming, percussive surge of “Stamp”.

The group consists of singer/guitarist Nils Edenloff, also the chief writer in the group; Paul Banwatt, whose raucous percussion pushes the songs into overdrive; and multi-instrumental Amy Cole, who provides keys, percussion, and backing vocals. Borrowing a regional slogan, Edenloff grew up in rural Fort McMurray, Alberta, and draws on his experiences there in his songwriting.

About their debut, Pitchfork Media gave it an 8.0, raving that “songs this good deserve to be heard by audiences as large as their sonic scope.” Meanwhile, All Music Guide said, “If there was an award for ‘Most likeable album of 2009,’ RAA would win by a landslide… Can’t wait to hear the next one.”

Stamp

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

Stamp

The RAA

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