The Spinto Band + The Rural Alberta Advantage

The Rural Alberta Advantage

Photograph: Patrick Leduc

The Bell House; Sun 5

“Imagine being magically whisked away to…Delaware.” The First State has long been the butt of jokes—the one quoted is from Wayne’s World—but a sextet from Wilmington aims to reverse that trend. The Spinto Band, a group of high-energy indie-rockers, released its second proper full-length, Moonwink, in October on Park the Van. (There are also six or so self-released records floating around.) The sound is a cross-pollination of the manic vocals of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the poppy ’60s appropriations of its labelmates Dr. Dog, and XTC’s new-wave quirk. Live, singer Nick Krill and his youthful mates—including two sets of brothers—fill the crowded stage with more action than Delaware has produced since the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge.

More intriguing is the Rural Alberta Advantage. When listening to the Toronto trio’s debut, Hometowns, it’s hard not to think of Neutral Milk Hotel: Alberta native Nils Edenloff’s warbling vocals channel those of NMH’s Jeff Mangum, while drummer Paul Banwatt and multi-instrumentalist Amy Cole’s furious rhythms change direction more quickly than an airplane over the sea—most notably on the rousing “Frank, AB.” But the band sets itself apart with potent slower numbers like “Sleep All Day.” Expect a rousing show and lots of RAA fans: EMusic chose the unsigned band for its Selects program (which has included buzz-generators like Crystal Stilts), and Hometowns became its most downloaded album in history.—Colin St. John

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