War Tapes :: "Dreaming of You"

High drama seems to attract its fair share of audience. A common counter-argument during college was that people just wanted things to be "chill." This was as boring as it was colloquial. Maybe a healthy balance between emotional adrenaline and placidity is for the best but in the moment of truth, at gunpoint, is it drama or boredom? Ask yourself, would rather work as a bank teller or plan a bank robbery? Maybe a revealing psychological question. War Tapes new single "Dreaming of You" might not have "indie rock" stamped on its chest but it is vault-blowing, get-away-car-riding, car-chasing dramatic.

What does it sound like? The Editors (or White Lies for that matter) playing a Cure song. "Dreaming of You" opens with the same suggestively lithe guitar-lines that made Robert Smith millions of dollars in the 1980s. Highlighter synths light the top of the arrangement before the whole mess collides into the chorus. The moment of high drama, the "give me all the money, hands in the air and nobody gets hurt" moment is at the three-minute mark. Coming out of the bridge the band gives us an unironic pause before unleashing five of the biggest guitar chords you'll hear this year. It's massive and unapologetic and thank God for that. Wake up, people. It's Monday.

Listen :: War Tapes - "Dreaming of You"

The Rural Alberta Advantage :: "Frank, AB" and "Don't Haunt This Place"

I was supposed to catch the sublimely-titled Rural Alberta Advantage two Sundays ago. It was actually supposed to be a date. Various things got in the way and, I suspect, I will come to regret it. Not in the way you regret missing something critical or developmental like learning to read. This is a "missing" that you can explain less and speculate about more. After all, you weren't there. You can't possibly know if it was good or bad. So whatever happened at the Bell House eight days ago, all we have is our imagination.

And like a bored only child, we're going to use our minds for fun. In my mind, The Rural Alberta Advantage sound, in person, exactly like they sound on recording: some parts Okkervil River, some parts early Bright Eyes, and some parts Tullycraft. Their music is small and taut and heartbreaking where seems reasonable. The sonic quality put into an amazon.com genre smoothie would be "acoustic," "alt-country," "boy-girl pop," and "Canada." But what does that mean? Absolutely nothing. The imagination looks for significance and fabric and, in this case, The Rural Alberta Advantage aren't in the market for metaphor. They play something that would be like an upbeat Jump, Little Children. How many references can we pack in here? Enough to get a mental picture. Because we sure as hell didn't see anything.

Listen :: The Rural Alberta Advantage - "Don't Haunt This Place"
Bonus :: The Rural Alberta Advantage - "Frank, AB"