Arcade Fire. Broken Social Scene. In the past 10 years, Canadian bands, packed with 10-plus members, have been known for having more people onstage than people in the audience listening.
This isn’t the case for the Rural Alberta Advantage.

In fact, the trio is even multi-tasking to create a sound like there are more players.

Keyboardist Amy Cole recently bought a pedal bass to play with her feet to fill in the low end.

“It’s been a little weird co-ordinating that with other instruments,” says Cole. “We’ve been practicing it a lot actually, getting ready for tour.”

Their recently released second album, Departing, has been garnering favourable reviews for its heartfelt immediacy.

There have been comparisons to Bright Eyes and Arcade Fire, but especially indie rock superheroes Neutral Milk Hotel, mostly due to singer Nils Edenloff’s voice.

“I think Nils’ vocal similarity cannot be denied,” says Cole.

“Honestly, it’s flattering to be in the same sentence as a band like that. At the same time, I hope we have our own identity.”

The band does seem to have found themselves in Departing, garnering good reviews all around.
“I think because we were more confident in our sound,” says Cole, “we were kind of able to make these songs in more of a voice that is a unified voice.”