Spotlight: The Rural Alberta Advantage

As we start off a new year, it seems fitting to feature the band whose 2009 was arguably better than any other Canadian outfit's: Toronto's the Rural Alberta Advantage, or RAA. Their story's been told well here, but the short version is that good reviews got the word out a bit and in November 2008 their self-released disc, Hometowns, was named eMusic's album of the month. Soon enough bloggers all over the US (primarily) were writing about the album, giving it more rave reviews. In January of last year, the RAA made their first trip to the US, playing for enthusiastic crowds in NYC. Fast-forward to March, where at SxSW, thanks to eMusic, the RAA opened for Grizzly Bear in a church, to---you guessed it---rave reviews. Soon they were signed to Saddle Creek. After that Paul Banwatt, Amy Cole, and Nils Edenloff started touring more extensively in the US and then went out to western Canada and back. They've been on the road pretty steadily since then, and played wonderful, sold-out shows in their hometown in July and November. This February will see them play during the Olympics in BC!

Sonically, the RAA are known for Nils' strained yet powerful vocals, Paul's intense, driving drum beats, and Amy's sweet backing vocals. Though there's only the three of them, their music isn't under-arranged. They perform with variety of percussion instruments, keyboards, glockenspiel, and acoustic guitar. The band's songs are meaningful, yearning ones about childhood memories, the stories that shape our understanding of the world we live in, and holding onto the past while moving forward in one's life. They've got a folk-pop base, but frenetic drumming gives their melodies an urgency and excitement they wouldn't otherwise have. Plus, they're just so adorable. It all works brilliantly.

Here are a few RAA goodies:

The RAA performing their song "Edmonton" in Chicago for HearYa.com:


Official video for "Drain the Blood":


Download: "Don't Haunt this Place" (Hometowns, 2009).
Download: "Frank, AB" (Hometowns, 2009).

Connect with the RAA:
Official website
MySpace page
Twitter account
Saddle Creek Records

Tour dates:
6 Jan 2010 @ Kungfu Necktie (Philadelphia, PA)
7 Jan 2010 @ Maxwell's (Hoboken, NJ)
8 Jan 2010 @ Terminal 5 (New York, NY)
9 Jan 2010 @ Mercury Lounge - early show (New York, NY)
9 Jan 2010 @ Mercury Lounge - late show (New York, NY)
14 Jan 2010 @ Mad Planet (Milwaukee, WI)
15 Jan 2010 @ The Cedar Cultural Center (Minneapolis, MN)
16 Jan 2010 @ Lincoln Hall (Chicago, IL)
17 Jan 2010 @ Beachland Tavern (Cleveland, OH)
9 Feb 2010 @ West End Cultural Centre (Winnipeg, MB)
10 Feb 2010 @ Amigo's (Saskatoon, SK)
12 Feb 2010 @ Broken City (Calgary, AB)
13 Feb 2010 @ Pawn Shop (Edmonton, AB)
15 Feb 2010 @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre (Vancouver, BC)
16 Feb 2010 @ The Lucky Bar (Victoria, BC)

Photo credit: Joe Fuda.