Rural Alberta Advantage

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 Magazine, The Rural Alberta Advantage are poised to explode in 2011 with Departing, out March 1 on Saddle Creek.

With The Rural Alberta Advantage's 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," all of which vividly set the scene.

Hometowns earned them acclaim from outlets as disparate as Stereogum (which named it one of the top 50 albums of 2009) and the Wall Street Journal (who said that the band is "starting to catch fire").

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." And Associated Press called them a "buzz band."

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.

RIYL: We Were Promised Jetpacks, Frightened Rabbit, Dan Mangan, Weakerthans, Freelance Whales
TRY: #1, 2, 3, 6 (ALL TRACKS CLEAN!)

Full Album Available Here:
https://www.piratepirate.com/downloads/

More Info Here:
http://www.myspace.com/theraa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rural_Alberta_Advantage
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rural-Alberta-Advantage/10374706645
http://twitter.com/#!/ruralalberta
http://pitchfork.com/artists/27553-the-rural-alberta-advantage/