Originally posted by The Fall of Troy:
This is a great story about how the internet can lead to bigger and better things for an unknown and unsigned band. We all played a significant role in this story, so I thought I would share it with you. If I get any of this wrong, please correct me.
The Rural Alberta Advantage is an indie rock trio from Toronto made up of Paul Banwatt, Amy Cole, and Nils Eddenloff. In 2005, they put together a demo, but were unable to generate much interest. In 2006, the RAA self-produced an EP cleverly named,
The Rural Alberta Advantage EP. Again, no interest. Then, in 2008, the RAA self-produced their first LP called
Hometowns and put it up for sale on the internet. To this day, this is the only place to purchase a physical copy of the album.
On February 19, 2008, a review of
Hometowns appeared on Herohill.com, a site that defines itself as “a music review site from the Great White North”. This review refers to the RAA as “probably the best unsigned band in Canada.” Herohill summed up
Hometowns as follows:
quote:
On the surface, you are hit with the trio's Neutral Milk Hotel pop and Nils Edenloff's detailed narratives of his Alberta roots. While it seems almost necessary to toss in a Sufjan reference when you talk about the subject matter, the final product couldn't be farther from one of the indie rock poster boy's releases. Instead of calculated, over thought, lush compositions, RAA prefers energetic, spontaneous, spare arrangements with just enough shocks and surprises to keep you guessing. And the power the trio delivers is astonishing.
In early summer of this year, one of our members, nmeiborg was poking around Herohill when he discovered the RAA. On June 24, nmeiborg posted the following in the “Best Records of 2008” thread after listening to
Hometowns:
quote:
Pretty impressed with a couple albums recently:
The Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns
Indie folk-rock that reminds me a bit of Neutral Milk Hotel
The War on Drugs - Wagonwheel Blues
Indie-rock with hints of Springsteen, Eno, Sonic Youth and early U2
This short post caused ripples that created a stir on Metacritic which has ended in a ground-swell of support for this unsigned band. Since then 7 people have put the RAA in their top 20: mneiborg (#2), RavingLunatic (#2), twinsdad (#4), L.R. Willaim Spencer (#7), Liberal Kid (#10), ajar (unnumbered, but at the top of the list), and CoCoCo (putting RAA in the “GoodGoodGood” category). Several others have mentioned it as an album they are still digesting. Not bad for an unsigned band.
RavingLunatic saw nmeiborg’s post, and picked up the album. Since then, RL has been an ardent supporter of the band. On October 5, RL made the following post in the “Best Records of 2008” thread:
quote:
Dudes, I recently re-listened to that Rural Alberta Advantage album, Hometowns, and it is freaking killer. I'm tempted to call it the best indie-rock album since The Meadowlands. These songs are passionate, catchy, and fresh. At times it recalls Neutral Milk Hotel, but they are different in many ways as well. Rural Alberta Advantage is now in a ferocious battle with Tallest Man On Earth for my #1 spot. If you are a fan of indie-rock and haven't heard this, you need to.
This is where the RAA picks up a little steam. Seeing this post, I checked the RAA out on their myspace page. I instantly fall in love with the band. But, I’m too honest to illegally download the album and too cheap to pay $12 plus shipping and handling from their website. So, I posted a message on the message boards at eMusic directed to Yancey Strickler, one of the editors at eMusic. In my message, I asked if I could recommend an unsigned band for the eMusic Selects program. Every couple of months, eMusic signs up unsigned artists to promote and digitally distribute their albums. The program has been going on for less than a year, but so far eMusic signed up Breathe Owl Breathe to distribute its
Ghost Glacier EP and at least one artist – High Places – has received a record deal after being an eMusic Select artist. Yancey was impressed with the RAA, and said that he would contact the band.
Slightly more than a month later, the RAA has become an eMusic Select artist. This could be a big stepping-stone for the band, and will guarantee them exposure to the more than 400,000 monthly eMusic subscribers.
I will be watching this band closely to see what the future holds. I feel that all of us here on the Metacritic boards have a stake in this band, since we have played an important role in their development. Good job nmeiborg, RL, twinsdad, L.R. Willaim Spencer, ajar, Liberal Kid, CoCoCo and everybody else that has been talking up this band! The RAA is our band!
Here’s a link to an interview with the band and a link to the eMusic download page, including eMusic’s review of hometowns:
http://www.emusic.com/features/spotlight/2008_200811-selects-qa-raa.html 
Metacritic Forums 
