Folk-rock Toronto trio The Rural Alberta Advantage have released their fifth full-length album and their first one in six years, The Rise & The Fall.
The Rise & The Fall features the return of original band member, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Amy Cole, alongside Paul Banwatt (drums) and Nils Edenloff (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard). The 13-song collection embodies the group’s talent and shows just how established they are in their sound and style. It includes songs from the band’s 2022 EP The Rise, as well as six new songs.
Says Amy Cole, “The last couple of years really tested us as a band, and made us ask ourselves: Why do we want to make music right now? And I think the answer is that, when the three of us get together, something happens that we now know is rare and special. We made this record so we can share this feeling, and bring others into that experience with us.”
The band says The Rise & The Fall is the product of navigating the pandemic and its aftermath: “songwriting over Zoom meetings, collaborating on demos online, distanced rehearsals in borrowed warehouses, and never giving up on the hope that the day would finally come when the band could share new music on stage together again.”
The Rise & The Fall contains dreamy soundscapes, singalongs, and tracks full of emotion. “Conductors”, their single (and EP) preceding the album, is “a rousing track dedicated to the universal question of why we run from the things we love.”
Edenloff recalls one particular interaction with a fan after a show earlier this year: “They said, ‘Your music makes me long for things I didn’t know I wanted.’ And that captures what I think we’re trying to do as a band.”
Find more information about The RAA here; they are soon touring Europe, Canada, and the U.S.! The Rural Alberta Advantage will perform in Washington D.C. on March 26, 2024 with Julianna Riolino at The Atlantis.
“Conductors” can be found on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music.
Emma Page, a recent Journalism graduate of The George Washington University, possesses a passion for music journalism and storytelling in all its forms. Originally from Baltimore, MD, when she is not writing, she can be found at a local concert or making music of her own.
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