The Albertans
New York, New York, United States
Music
Press
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The Albertans's Latest Blog Entry [Subscribe to this Blog]
back in the USSA (view more)
fall tour begins! (view more)
The Toilet Sessions (view more)
slack (view more)
turtles! out with you (view more)
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About The Albertans
"THE ALBERTANS announced L MAGAZINE'S TOP 8 NYC BANDS YOU NEED TO HEAR IN 2009"
Joel Bravo, a native of Milwaukee, and bassist Ian Everall, Albertan by birth, met while members of New York’s Bravo Silva. When that outfit ended they, along with a large and talented rotating cast of players, began playing in New York City under the name Sex with an Angel. They played CMJ in 2007, they moved to Vancouver in 2008, took up the name The Albertans and, along with new fellow travelers, took to the road.
The Albertans, though, are not about place or pedigree. It is passage, the extremis of transmitting real bodies across the tangled wires and abstracted networks of space and person, that comes through when they play. Their songs are a cartography of North America mapped on the trail of human footsteps’ fading heat signatures. It is traveling music, and they sing their songs in search of a road through territory made uncertain by love, dreams, and strange frustrations, the few directions to be heard tuned in dubiously on the last working AM radio.
Legends of Sam Marco, follow-up to ‘08’s “Sex with an Angel” EP, is a trembling journey through the mystery of pop, a fugue of fifty years of Americana, rock, blues and soul that finds us after that journey in no place other than the weird intersection of here and now. It is an offering, a concept record that comes into your life as only pop music can, gifting listeners the moments of its progression to acknowledge that we are all bound together- sometimes bewildered in fear, but also dazzled by hope.
The Sex With An Angel EP Can be purchased here.
Photobucket
"The first single from the (upcoming) record, “High Noon”, is a sparsely told story of craft and sacrifice, commitment and resignation, richly orchestrated but deftly composed so that each instrument’s voice steps out of the way of the next. If you never saw them in ‘07 when they were performing as Sex with an Angel, it’s a great introduction to the band’s storytelling style and the wistful bombast Joel Bravo’s lyricism inspires in the musicians. If you had seen them in a previous incarnation, you’d hear this new recording’s desperate edges in the loud guitar wash all the more sharply." - Impose Magazine
Get Flash now!
In order to listen or view this content you will have to upgrade your version of Flash.
The Albertans's Latest Blog Entry [Subscribe to this Blog]
back in the USSA (view more)
fall tour begins! (view more)
The Toilet Sessions (view more)
slack (view more)
turtles! out with you (view more)
[View All Blog Entries]
About The Albertans
"THE ALBERTANS announced L MAGAZINE'S TOP 8 NYC BANDS YOU NEED TO HEAR IN 2009"
Joel Bravo, a native of Milwaukee, and bassist Ian Everall, Albertan by birth, met while members of New York’s Bravo Silva. When that outfit ended they, along with a large and talented rotating cast of players, began playing in New York City under the name Sex with an Angel. They played CMJ in 2007, they moved to Vancouver in 2008, took up the name The Albertans and, along with new fellow travelers, took to the road.
The Albertans, though, are not about place or pedigree. It is passage, the extremis of transmitting real bodies across the tangled wires and abstracted networks of space and person, that comes through when they play. Their songs are a cartography of North America mapped on the trail of human footsteps’ fading heat signatures. It is traveling music, and they sing their songs in search of a road through territory made uncertain by love, dreams, and strange frustrations, the few directions to be heard tuned in dubiously on the last working AM radio.
Legends of Sam Marco, follow-up to ‘08’s “Sex with an Angel” EP, is a trembling journey through the mystery of pop, a fugue of fifty years of Americana, rock, blues and soul that finds us after that journey in no place other than the weird intersection of here and now. It is an offering, a concept record that comes into your life as only pop music can, gifting listeners the moments of its progression to acknowledge that we are all bound together- sometimes bewildered in fear, but also dazzled by hope.
The Sex With An Angel EP Can be purchased here.
Photobucket
"The first single from the (upcoming) record, “High Noon”, is a sparsely told story of craft and sacrifice, commitment and resignation, richly orchestrated but deftly composed so that each instrument’s voice steps out of the way of the next. If you never saw them in ‘07 when they were performing as Sex with an Angel, it’s a great introduction to the band’s storytelling style and the wistful bombast Joel Bravo’s lyricism inspires in the musicians. If you had seen them in a previous incarnation, you’d hear this new recording’s desperate edges in the loud guitar wash all the more sharply." - IMPOSE MAGAZINE, JAN 2009
"The Albertans build songs from the ground up, adding layer upon layer of rich orchestration while never muddling the sound or being over the top. They're all about clean instruments and spot-on pop sensibility. Noise punk is so last week; you need to hear these guys now." - THE L MAG, APR 2009
"The Albertans are led by Joel Bravo, one of the guys from Bravo Silva, a band we've been mourning since they called it quits in 2006. The tears were wiped from our eyes, though, when we heard the new project. It's full of all the Talking-Heads-y hooks and jerky rhythms from the old band but with new wave guitars and a breathy female backup singer. So good!" - NEW RELEASE NEW YORK, APR 2009
"The Albertans - who have a debut CD coming out on June 23 - play delicate, inventive melodic rock, with some psychedelic influences but an overall intimately poetic approach that reminds us of an early Leonard Cohen backed up by an eclectic rock band." - THE DELI MAGAZINE, APR 2009. Click here to see the full article.
"The Albertans remain rooted in the ways of pop music, but nothing ever quite jumps out and bashes you over the head. The guitars are gentle and often sparse, melodically rich and warm in tone. They’re joined by drums, bass, two keyboards, various percussion, and, of course, Bravo’s delicate, quirky vocals (think Dan Bejar), which happily sit high in the mix. They’ve got a new record coming out in June, and if we were putting money on it, we’d say you’ll be hearing an awful lot about it." - L Magazine
the Albertans are a Vancouver collective with the type of melodic, quirky hooks that have been a Canadian trademark the past few years - blender
Recent music history is packed full of hyped failures. The internet has only increased hype-culture. Bloggers' numbers make them a serious critical force, one that can push an un-signed band into the popular stratosphere. Self-releasing albums have become a valuable and sometimes even lucrative measure for bands. But often blog hype is just that... hype. When the eventual product drops we are offered an album of filler surrounding the few tracks that blogs originally exalted. Luckily, The Albertans don't suffer this fate. Their debut comes after some internet rumblings, some South by Southwest toting, even some record label buzz, and name change hype, but their first record pays off.
Legends of Sam Marco is an eclectic and challenging pop record. The Albertans go after a number of sounds and genres and manage to catch them all. When the band first started they had hoped to create a theatrical sound, and while they may have ditched that original intent to focus more on pop songwriting, elements of the dramatic are still present throughout this album. These elements add extra emphasis and changes in order to craft surprising turns.
Perhaps what is most satisfying about this album is the diversity. No two tracks sound alike, and despite this disparity the album flows well. The shifts in tone are not disruptive because the impassioned approach is always the same and the melodic know-how is always present to keep things entertaining and catchy. Not many bands can spread their parameters so wide without merely ripping them to shreds, but The Albertans manage gracefully. For once the hype-machine created a suitable product. - associated content
Discography
Sex with an Angel EP
Legends Of Sam Marco LP
Photos
Bio
Joel Bravo, a native of Milwaukee, and bassist Ian Everall, Albertan by birth, met while members of New Yorks Bravo Silva. When that outfit ended they, along with a large and talented rotating cast of players, began playing in New York City under the name Sex with an Angel. They played CMJ in 2007, they moved to Vancouver in 2008, took up the name The Albertans and, along with new fellow travelers, took to the road.
The Albertans, though, are not about place or pedigree. It is passage, the extremis of transmitting real bodies across the tangled wires and abstracted networks of space and person, that comes through when they play. Their songs are a cartography of North America mapped on the trail of human footsteps fading heat signatures. It is traveling music, and they sing their songs in search of a road through territory made uncertain by love, dreams, and strange frustrations, the few directions to be heard tuned in dubiously on the last working AM radio.
Legends of Sam Marco, follow-up to 08s Sex with an Angel EP, is a trembling journey through the mystery of pop, a fugue of fifty years of Americana, rock, blues and soul that finds us after that journey in no place other than the weird intersection of here and now. It is an offering, a concept record that comes into your life as only pop music can, gifting listeners the moments of its progression to acknowledge that we are all bound together- sometimes bewildered in fear, but also dazzled by hope.
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