The Rural Alberta Advantage still dreams of ditching the day job

Three years removed from their debut, The Rural Alberta Advantage readies for the next step

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So I only get two words to describe The Rural Alberta Advantage? Easy. Hometowns and Departing. The former is the title of the Canadian trio’s 2008 full-length debut, and it paints an apt portrait of the band’s indie-folk sound which grew organically from open mic jams and close friendships in Toronto. The latter is the title of the sophomore effort (released two weeks ago via Saddle Creek) and pulls equally appropriate imagery some three years later, encapsulating their movement onward and upward in a mature sound that bears lessons learned since hitting the road. Departing, and the band behind it, is quietly and confidently ready for the next step. Nils Edenloff chats about his band’s growth, their tour tricks, and where the road may lead next.

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Where have you seen the most growth musically within the band between Hometowns and the new record, Departing?
Nild Edenloff: It’s in all facets, really. Knowing what we learned from Hometowns and trying to put it towards the recording of Departing I think was just hugely important. Recording Hometowns, we still hadn’t played all that many shows and were learning a lot in the studio - and over the course of touring the record, we got better at realizing what our strengths an weaknesses were. Departing tries to showcase those things that we’ve learned over the last couple of years. We did our best to try and stretch the songs out a little more. The songs on Hometowns sort of stop short when they get going, in a way. So we tried to not have a problem with repeating things over again and what not (laughs). I think this one has some more sweet moments on it, but it has the energy in there that Hometowns did, too.

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A title like Departing obviously evokes some imagery of the road, movement, expansion, etc. Were the songs written during the Hometowns tours? Are you able to write on the road as a rule?
NE: It’s kind of difficult to write on the road for me especially. The way I sing can tend to be a little hard on my voice, so any additional singing or working on songs on the road isn’t good for the long term touring. But a lot of the songs in a way came from the same sort of place as Hometowns. I’ve always seen these record as being companion pieces, in a way. Some of the songs on Departing were around during the sessions for Hometowns, we just didn’t find a way to make them work at the time. So we too our time to rebuild stuff, and go back and rewrite and revise stuff to make sure it’s on par with the other stuff we do. And those revisions and what not happened in a live setting on the road — but it’s hard to say where they came from initially.

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Have you found a default muse as a songwriter?