The Rural Alberta Advantage-Plague Dogs

There was a nice chunk of time between 2008 and 2013 or 14 when I would’ve said that The Rural Alberta Advantage were one of my favorite bands. Saw them live a number of times, listened to their first two albums constantly, and imagined the good times would never end. Their third album didn’t hit like the first two, and I started to drift away, then Amy Cole left the band I pretty much gave up on them.

However, Amy rejoined the band after couple of years away and now they’re back with a new single and a tour that kicks off right here in Chicago!

“Plague Dogs” is the first single of 2023 for the band, following two singles that came out last year. The band has made an effort to record and release new music as it happens, instead of holding it back for an album. This song developed over the course of their last tour, and the video was filmed at one of their shows in Toronto.

The song brought me back with a lot of the elements I’ve always loved about The RAA: Paul Banwatt’s pummeling of his drum set, the nasal not-quite-yelling from Nils, and Amy performing multiple tasks on synths, percussion, and backup vocals to fortify the sound.

I’m hoping they can get more than two songs out this year, because “Plague Dogs” is proof they’ve still got their mojo working. If you can make it out to their show at Lincoln Hall, here’s a link to tickets. For the rest of their tour dates, check out their website.

Here’s a little bonus video from when I saw the band play at Scubas (Lincoln Hall’s sister venue) in 2012: