The Rural Alberta Advantage
Mended with Gold/Saddle Creek
The Rural Alberta Advantage’s newest project will make you sweat. Between the perpetually chugging drum beats, driving guitars, and lead singer-songwriter Nils Edenloff’s singing, there’s no aspect of this album that doesn’t scream, “Dance, dance, dance!” Oddly enough, however, this is not a happy record, and much of the album focuses on struggle. “Our Love…” and “…On the Run” bookend the album nicely with the age-old subject of how to make relationships work. “On the Rocks” is a self-explanatory ode, and “To Be Scared” is an examination of negative thinking. Many of the tunes have a frenetic energy that makes them easy to bounce to, and despite being a downer, the record as a whole fits into the anthemic indie rock category along the lines of the “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” proverb.
Boy + Kite
Blueprint EP/self-released
No two ways about it, the three-song Blueprint EP is absolute gold. The opener, “Either Way,” marries a tight indie rock sound with thoughtful meditations on the nature of life from singer Darvin Jones, and Beth Puorro adds some breathy harmonies—both here and throughout the EP—that are spine-tingling. This is atmospheric rock that sounds like it’s drifting down from the heavens, while it slightly pokes its head into shoegaze territory as on the echoing, beautiful “Turned Sideways.” And the closer, “Touching the Sun,” paints a picture of euphoria on a bright sunny day completing the trio of near-perfect tunes.
Bill Frisell
Guitar in the Space Age!/Nonesuch Records
Legendary jazz guitarist Bill Frisell has never been shy about his desire to explore or to pay homage to the greats who came before him, and so it is fitting that his newest record is a combination of both. Comprised mainly of instrumental covers that were in vogue during his youth in the ’50s and ’60s—mixed with two original songs—the album is a blast from the past. His take on “Surfer Girl” is dreamy, and Merle Travis’ ragtime classic “Cannonball Rag” is every bit as boogie-inducing without the brass band in tow. “Turn, Turn, Turn” somehow becomes more wistful in Frisell’s hands, while “Tired of Waiting for You” ambles into freestyle territory—thus augmenting the song’s theme. The low-key shout-out to the songs that were part of Frisell’s musical education is striking and enjoyable.