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Mar 1, 2011More confident, explosive, and produced than their lovable but ultimately flat-sounding debut, the aptly named Departing finds the trio ditching the living room scene for the road, carving out a solid collection of fiery, understated, nostalgia-laced indie pop gems that fly by like mile-markers.
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Mar 2, 2011The relatively sparse and chilly tone of Departing ultimately feels less like a slump than a conscious decision to present itself as the wintertime counterpart to Hometowns' prairie summer.
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Mar 3, 2011Departing is a forlorn record, one that practically oozes ache and pain, and is all the more compulsive for sounding so deserted in places.
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May 4, 2011These are simple, almost campfire songs, drummer Paul Banwatt occasionally catching your attention with a stuttering rhythm, the focus on Edenloff's plaintive voice and his exorcism of the past.
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Mar 1, 2011On Departing, its second long-player, The Rural Alberta Advantage stays true to the bare-bones, Neutral Milk-spiked folk-pop formula with which it began.
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Mar 1, 2011The songwriting is another matter. Where debut album Hometowns was saturated with specific references to Alberta, with little cinematic details that helped to flesh out the songs, Departing relies too frequently on stock winter imagery and generic love laments.
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Alternative PressMar 11, 2011Blistering brittle and beautiful, this is a cold, winter wind of a record, perfect for shutting yourself away from the outside world as you mourn the passing of friends, loved ones and better days. [Apr 2011, p.118]
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Mar 2, 2011The Rural Alberta Advantage's capital-E Emotions are rarely comforting, but they serve as a reminder that life, stark - and wintry - as it is, is worth feeling hurt over, that our petty, mortal passions are justified.
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Mar 1, 2011RAA's secret weapon has always been the expert drumming of Paul Banwatt, and here he's given more of a chance to shine.
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Feb 25, 2011It's exciting in its pacing, invigorated in its writing, and illustrious in its instrumentation. It's not mad - nor, indeed, prairie-mad - to think that this is an early contender for album of the year lists.
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Mar 9, 2011Sparsely lit lover's folk is by no means a fresh development, but The Rural Alberta Advantage continue to take the sound in new, interesting ways.
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Mar 9, 2011On Departing, there's no lack of that rawness or emotion, and the crippling nostalgia still reverberates throughout.
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Mar 28, 2011Most often, it delivers what you get on Departing: an enjoyable but still not entirely satisfying collection of songs that don't really work as well together as they do apart.
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Mar 3, 2011There's no denying that Departing is miles ahead of where the band was a year ago and while die-hards will love Hometowns for a long time to come, Departing is absolutely the band's strongest work to date.
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Mar 1, 2011Upon first listen, it sounds like all of the rest-cutesy vocals, romantic lyrics, peppy poppy guitars. But on Departing, the guitars are massive, the lyrics are gorgeous and the vocals are astonishingly expressive.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 6 out of 7
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Mixed: 0 out of 7
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Negative: 1 out of 7
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Sep 30, 2011
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Jul 10, 2011