The Rural Alberta Advantage – Mended With Gold

The Rural Alberta Advantage is one of those rare exceptions (along with Deer Tick) to the rule that really pitchy, wiry vocals will eventually become unbearably grating.  The Canadian prairie trio has a  been at it now for two full lengths and is now fresh on their third with their fanbase offering up quite the opposite of fatigue.  Originally discovered by music vendor eMusic, the band has since found a comfortable home to grow from with Saddle Creek.  As found in their latest effort, Mended With Gold, growth has been characterized by filling out The Rural Alberta Advantage’s foundation of earthy tones with a host of subtle production layers.  

The Rural Alberta Advantage’s strength rests in their effortless ascent into cloud spanning grandois and easy retreat into shadowy everglades.  The sheer scale of songs like “Not Love Or Death” boldly traverse new ground as drums thump loudly and various electric intricacies sparkle where the band plugs the sonic gaps and fills in instrumental holes.  The result is particularly anthemic and lofty but without losing that down to earth The Rural Alberta Advantage charm.  

In natural contrast, songs like “On The Rocks” centre around a damper, more sullen quality.  The reverberating hum of the electric backdrop accent’s Amy Cole’s cutting piano notes as they fall in place alongside Nils Edenloff’s screechy pitch.  Songs like “Our Love…” and “This City” further take advantage of such a fleshed out feel in a way that suits the band like a glove.  When it comes to tracks like “Terrified,” you’d have to be a pretty big grump to not fall in easily with this toe tapping, hand clapping mentality.  The worst that can be said about the album’s lesser moments (i.e. “To Be Scared”) is that some of songs don’t quite “pop” or stand out, but they never feel like they’re dragging their feet.

At it’s core, Mended With Gold is just a really solid, listenable dose of indie-folk that builds on The Rural Alberta Advantage’s previous success.  It would have been easy to fault The Rural Alberta Advantage had they opted to play it safe in their prior minimalism, but Mended With Gold skirts any concerns with the band’s most varied performance to date.  This is good new for fans and just about anyone else curious about checking out these prairie goers.