ARTIST: Alberta Cross
TITLE: The Rolling Thunder
LABEL: ATO Records / ARK Recordings
GENRE: Indie
BITRATE: 259kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 24m total
RELEASE DATE: 2011-10-04
RIP DATE: 2011-10-26
Track List
----------
1. Money For The Weekend 3:42
2. Ramblin' Home 6:19
3. Wait 5:36
4. Driving With Myself 5:01
5. Rolling Thunder 4:05
Release Notes:
http://www.albertacross.net
http://www.myspace.com/albertacross
With their first release Broken Side of Time in 2009, Alberta Cross was
unfortunately dismissed by some as Brits going Southern rock, which made sense
at the time, as the band sounded like a bunch of kids from London who moved to
America and attempted to do a poor imitation of My Morning Jacket. But on their
newest five-track EP, The Rolling Thunder EP, the band reinvents itself and is
much better for it.
The album works like a five-act play, complete with rising action, climax and
denouement. ôMoney For The Weekendö starts off the EP with a fun Black Rebel
Motorcycle Club-style bang. What the lyrics lack in depth, with essentially the
entire song being the lyrics ôThere is your money for the weekend, I got a
pocket full of changeö repeated over and over, the song makes up for in fun.
ôRambinÆ Homeö starts off slow, but rises in action as the albumÆs best example
of the vocal range of lead singer Petter Ericson Stakee. ôWait,ö the albumÆs
best track, expands the bandÆs sound beyond the classic rock vibe and has them
experimenting with unique sounds, framed by a simple piano part. With ôDriving
With Myself,ö the band starts to fall into their old patterns, becoming almost
too generic for their own good, but they save themselves with the simple, yet
elegant ôRolling Thunder,ö ending the EP on a understated note that works
beautifully.
Alberta Cross seems like a band that was trying struggling to find their
identity, not straying too far from what they know with their first few works.
Thankfully with The Rolling Thunder EP, the band tries new things, experiments a
bit and takes some chances. Hopefully this is a glimpse of what the future holds
for the band, willing to find themselves, not content to retread their steps in
the past.