12 Canadian Bands#11 The Rural Alberta Advantage

Nice folks, nice band. They played here a few months back and their catchy indie-rock sound was a welcome change from all the Canadian bands who try too hard.

It’s been an unusual road for these guys, gaining popularity primarily through the EMusic service and a SXSW appearance before ever getting signed to a label (and really, they are semi-unsigned still; Saddle Creek only re-released their homemade album, and their latest single was funded not by a record label but by Kickstarter).

I confess I’m not the biggest fan of frontman Nils Edenloff’s voice, but he does have a way with a hook and that generally saves the day, particularly when he gets vocal backup from his bandmates Amy Cole and Paul Bandwatt.

I think of them as a diamond still in the rough, still finding their feet as they venture out into the world. As my selection here (“Frank, AB,” the second single from the album Hometowns) shows, their minimal sound and personal charm will only carry them so far -- but they have shown steady improvement across their brief career and I think we can safely expect great things, an unfortunate cover of Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” that is floating around the net nonwithstanding.

“Frank, AB” by The Rural Alberta Advantage