The Rural Alberta Advantage

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The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Don’t Haunt This Place”

Nils Edenloff, lead vocalist of The Rural Alberta Advantage, doesn’t really “sing.” No, not really. Instead, Edenloff whispers, sighs, screams, whines, talks, laughs, begs, pines and confides in the listener, welcoming them into his hometown and showing them around to everything and everyone he loves.

Indeed, as the band’s name might suggest, Edenloff grew up in a log cabin in rural Southern Alberta, Canada, a hometown that strongly influenced his songwriting. Now based in Toronto, the band still sticks close to its roots in its complex lyrics, nostolgic vocals and a Canadian-heavy tour to promote Hometowns, the band’s debut album.

Hometowns is, in many respects, a work of true “indie” proportions, with low-fi recording, strained vocals and many experimental tendencies. Yet, what makes the album stand out is the breadth of the lyrics, the emotive vocals of Edenloff and the group’s unique manipulation of the folk formula.

“Rush Apart” and “Luciana” sound like the best parts of Neutral Milk Hotel and The Microphones. Edenloff shouts over noise-folk guitars and bass-heavy drums, which often climax into cymbal crashes and a bold horns section.

“Don’t Haunt This Place,” the quiet standout of the album, starts with warm organ synth and an almost-monotonous Edenloff. The track evolves into an ode to the homesick, the heartbroken and the hopeful romantics, with lush violins, tambourines and the beautiful vocal contributions of bandmate Amy Cole. Edenloff crafts songs that are both joyous and thoughtful, with lyrics that can live and breathe within anyone who has ever missed home.

From Hometowns it is apparent that for The Rural Alberta Advantage, no matter how you change as a songwriter, no matter how far away you move in the world and no matter how old you get, the idea of home is always just a verse or a chorus away.

by Asst. Entertainment Editor Geoff Schorkopf

Bon Iver

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Bon Iver – “Skinny Love”

After the breaking up of his band and of his girlfriend and during a period of prolonged sickness, Jason Vernon went into hibernation for four months. He delved deep into the frostbitten woods of Northern Wisconsin, to a remote cabin in the dead of winter, where he spent his days reading by the fire, listening to music and recovering from the pains of the outside world. He ate whatever he could afford and performed simple day-to-day tasks like chopping logs to pass the time. Soon, his days evolved into cathartic, emotionally-charged instrumental sessions. He had turned the cabin into a studio, and when he emerged, he had developed For Emma, Forever Ago — what I would contend is the most personal and best record of 2008.

Vernon took on the name Bon Iver — which, appropriately, is a basterdized form of the French “bon hiver,” or “good winter.” He constructed the bare bones of a song — the melody and guitar — then listened to that base layer over and over until he formed lyrics for each tone that he found fitting. By layering his vocals, he creates a lush, beautiful sound that is as warm as a fire on a cold winter day.

On Bon Iver’s debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, each of the nine songs are carefully constructed with acoustic guitars and chilling harmonies. In “Flume,” the album’s haunting opener, Bon Iver layers multiple guitars, drums and strings into a depressing ode to loneliness and isolation. While the tone of the album is far from happy, the album manages not to linger too long on bleakness, with songs like “For Emma” that bear triumphant horn sections and major chord progressions.

However, the greatest beauty of Vernon’s work is the replay value. I find myself enjoying different parts of the album with every different mood I’m in, and picking a favorite track on this record is damned near impossible. Every song is worthwhile, each guitar riff and lyric feels deeply personal and with every listen, the audience feels more and more rewarded, being pulled into Vernon’s world one melody at a time.

In their first single, “Skinny Love,” the most accessable and personal track on the album, Bon Iver asks “Who will love you? / Who will fight? / Who will fall far behind?” and you wonder if Vernon had asked himself those same questions in his cabin two winters ago. He searched for the answers through solitude, recuperation and his music. What had once been an awful and depressing period in his life has changed into a “good” winter, one that now, he is able to share with us.

by Asst. Entertainment Editor Geoff Schorkopf

Annuals

Annuals Myspace

In the summer of 2007, I was stuck in suburban Nashville, working a banal job answering phone calls and being verbally assaulted by real estate agents well into their mid-life crises. So when Bonnaroo came back again to Manchester, Tennessee for its annual festival of drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll right before my birthday, I was unfortunately left behind in the alternate world of sobriety, celibacy and office music (which is mostly “Fix You” by Coldplay, one of the great musical gag-inducers).

However, my good friends attended – much to my jealousy – and got a first glance at Annuals, a band whose live performance blew them all away. They even got to meet lead singer Adam Baker and keyboardist slash singer slash hottie Anna Spence, who signed their debut album, Be He Me, for me in honor of my birthday. Granted, Baker penned the phrase “Happy 20th birthday, Jeff!” on the record – inaccurate in both year count and the spelling of my name – but my friends loved their music so much they didn’t have the heart to tell them they were wrong.

The six-piece band’s work juxtaposes beautifully synchronized strings with bizarre electonica noise to create a sound that is both violently emotional and uniquely poppy. Vocalist Baker alternates between sweet harmonies and urgent screaming during songs, giving Annuals’ tunes the ability to suddenly alternate between tones of love and hate.

For instance, in their song “Sore” from their recent Wet Zoo EP, the band uses a continual, poetic verse, complete with melodic violins and quiet, controlled percussion to build the tune for nearly two minutes. Finally, Baker bursts into a bombastic and triumphant chorus. The song matches the tone of exhaustion in the verse, singing about the tiring nature of the every day, with a joyous chorus about love getting you through these sore times.

Their previous work on 2006’s Be He Me includes plenty of other brilliant tunes. On their “blog-phenomenon” hit “Brother”, which gained significant recognition from Pitchfork Media and Spin.com, the band is barely audible through the first half of the song. But once Baker gives the signal, his group explodes sonically and doesn’t stop until the final seconds. Annuals’ diametric use of volume, precision and tone creates some of the most exciting tunes around.

The Raleigh, NC indie-rock group is releasing their sophomore effort, Such Fun, on Oct. 7, and is coming to Atlanta this fall. Although Annuals may not be able to accurately spell or count years, they are still able to put out phenomenal shows and records that will leave your ears anything but “sore.”

by Asst. Entertainment Editor Geoff Schorkopf

Paper Route

^{Courtesy of Esther Creative Group}

Paper Route – “American Clouds”

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“There’s heartbreak all over the E., Everday that goes by I just realize that more and more people’s relationships aren’t such a fairy tale and that that discontent and that heartache is universal.”

The above words are a quote from “8 Minutes” a self produced video that this Nashville quartet put together, featuring a medley of their songs, gorgeous visuals, and their narrated thoughts on music and art. The line so perfectly captures my own feelings about the band and their music that any attempt to put it in my own words would deaden the sentiment, ring somewhat hollow. So instead, I’ve let them say it themselves.

In fact, in a lot of ways Paper Route is a band that can tell its own story just as poignantly and movingly as any journalist. Band-founder Chad Howat’s musings on insomnia and its part in the formation of the band are as clever or as funny as anything I’ve ever written, or could hope to write for that matter. And their typical unsigned indie success story (group starts small, plays frequently locally, already gaining buzz before first full length, etc.) is one that almost writes itself these days. But to focus on that purely mechanical, and rather clichéd story ignores what we should really be talking about– their music.

And gorgeous music it is. The heartbreak that fills their self-titled EP is achingly beautiful, a lush mix of piano, synthesizer, soaring oohs and ahs, bright guitars, full strings, and catchy drum loops. There’s a touch of electronica, here, but only just a touch. The songs as a whole are far too cohesive to be a part of that genre, not a schizophrenic collection bloops, beeps, bass, and drum machine, but very organic, carefully crafted pieces.

In fact the track available here, American Clouds, material off their upcoming full length, features more electronica influences than most of their work to date, pushing them towards the field of synthesizer heavy dance-pop occupied by folks like hellogoodbye, or The Postal Service. Here fuzzy synthesizers, distorted vocals, and a looped melody open the song, but as it progresses we begin to heart those drop out, replaced by a guitar, a harmonic, far more organic sounds.

What we don’t hear sadly, is the members of Paper Route showing off their vocals. If their EP is anything to judge by then almost every member of the band has a voice that could make them lead vocalist for any other group. And if that wasn’t enough, they also brought on Nashville artist Kate York to supply her gorgeous soprano to the opening track, “Second Chances.”

The result is beautiful singing that draws attention to Paper Route’s extraordinary lyrics. Lines like “Second Chance’s” chilling “Apparently love runs on one-way courses / away from contentment” wrench at the heart when airily delivered by York during a poignant duet. And the hollow nihilism of “Let You Down’s” “I’m not afraid to give up and give in / we’re going to die anyway / what’s the point in the end,” paints the picture of a man caught in utter brokenness when they’re belted out in a desperate near scream by the vocalist.

In short, Paper Route is a breath of fresh air in an indie world where increasing, to steal the words of fellow Wheel writer and friend David Marek, “randomness/florescent ugliness is valued above songwriting.” These guys put their songs together with unnatural care, crafting something that is worth listening to over and over, year after year.

Note: Paper Route will be playing March 8th at the Masquerade. In case you haven’t noticed, I really like these guys, so I’d highly recommend checking out the show.

–Asst. Entertainment Editor Andrew Swerlick

The Winter Sounds

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The Winter Sounds – “Windy City Nights”

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Not quite over the winter woes? Commiserate with the chilly tunes of The Winter Sounds. Listening to their newest release, Porcelain Empire, it’s obvious that this Atlanta band could not have picked a more appropriate name: Their frosty ballads are strewn with bells, chimes and dings that ring over their rock background. On “Static in the Whole,” frontman Patrick Keenen’s swooning voice drifts over harmonic tones. As the vocals fade midway through the song, the devilish sounds of a distorted guitar fill the vacuum only to be joined by ringing chimes that make you think you’re listening to a carol you can’t quite name, but that might belong in a Tim Burton Christmas movie.

The genius of The Winter Sounds rests in their ability to turn complex layers of unique musical effects into songs that are easily accessible. You can’t help but bob your head to the high-powered riffs of the opening track “Windy City Nights” — and seriously, good luck not dancing along to the energetic beats of “Oblivion.”

The Winter Sounds seamlessly blend eccentric instrumentation into a sound as radiant and smooth as fresh snow. So throw your last log into the fireplace and rock out to The Winter Sounds. Or, to experience them in person, venture out to Smith’s Olde Bar on March 6 to see them perform live.

—By Contributing Writer Alex Blum