The Rural Alberta Advantage broke out onto the indie music world in 2008 with Hometowns, and immediately started an all-too-familiar trip to the tops of playlists and lineups everywhere. Since then, the Toronto based band has gained notoriety in the press, toured the world, and even played the Olympics. Now, though, RAA are entering a new phase of their career as they ready their sophomore debut, Departing. But don’t let the title fool you; RAA aren’t going all Sugar Ray on us. They’re actually just hunkering down to further explore that cozy Canadian sound.
Speaking to Exclaim!, frontman Nils Edenloff said that Departing would be “an end to the stuff that we started with Hometowns. I don’t want it to come across like we’re a one-trick pony or something, but we wanted to explore more of the stuff we were doing with Hometowns now that we feel more comfortable with what we’re doing.”
Once again recorded in Toronto’s Boombox Sound studio with producer Roger Leavens, the second LP promises to feature the same tiny keyboard sound, the same powerful, emotionally-impactful vocals, and the just-as-infectious strumming melodies. You won’t, however, see as many lyrics that tie into Alberta geography, though Edenloff said there’d be personal stories involving landmarks, like Fort Murray being used in the song “The Breakup”.
Check out the tracklist below. Departing hits stores March 1st via Paper Bag/Saddle Creek.
Departing Tracklist:
01. Two Lovers
02. The Breakup
03. Under the Knife
04. Muscle Relaxants
05. North Star
06. Stamp
07. Tornado ’87
08. Barnes’ Yard
09. Coldest Days
10. Good Night
