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Sound Tracks: “Stamp” by the Rural Alberta Advantage
Believe it or not, music videos still exist. Sound Tracks trolls the internet to find the best and the worst of local artists’ new singles and the good, bad, or otherwise noteworthy visuals that accompany them.
The first single from the Rural Alberta Advantage’s upcoming sophomore album has been released and with it, a video that was a Rolling Stone exclusive for a week, but is now in wider release. They’ve come a long way from selling CD-R copies of their debut, Hometowns in a few short years.
“Stamp” is a mock-performance video featuring not only the band, but also the two fans and their inner thoughts displayed as captions on the screen. One of them, an uber-fan guy, seems disappointed not to know the new song the band is playing, and the other, an ecstatic, smitten girl (who happens to be the little sister of former Torontoist contributor Sarah Nicole Prickett), debates making her move on drummer Paul Banwatt or singer Nils Edenloff. Then the guy notices the girl, the guy makes his move, and the girl is totally not feeling it. “Ew,” she says and backs away with an eye roll; “Eff,” he says as he hangs his head. “story of my life lol,” says YouTube commenter grindcoremaniac. Right? Story of all our lives, guy. Indie rock: it’s a tough love.
The new Rural Alberta Advantage album, Departing, comes out on March 1 via Saddle Creek in the U.S. and Paper Bag Records here at home. Spoiler alert! If you liked Hometowns, you’ll love Departing.