Alberta Cross - The Thief and The Heartbreaker [Mini-Album]

Fiction

“It’s a battle against weak verses and big choruses and we want to make classic albums, not albums with four singles and a bunch of fillers”, explains Petter Ericson Stakee of Anglo-Swede band Alberta Cross. It’s a promising manifesto, and quite refreshing in the modern musical world where some bands are considering ditching albums altogether for a series of singles.

Of course it would count for nothing if they couldn’t back it up, so the pressure is on with their debut, ‘The Thief and The Heartbreaker’. At 7 tracks long, it’s more a mini-album than full length debut, but when the 7 tracks are this good you really can’t complain. It also serves to back up their approach of quality over quantity.

The album begins strongly with the title track easing itself in with a drum beat that sets the pace for what’s to come. As bass and steel-strung guitar arrive, they bring modern American along, and this worries me a little. It’s a genre that I love, and one that is often completely misinterpreted by artists outside of the US. Now Brooklyn may not be the largest purveyor of country-blues Americana, but being based there may well account for why Alberta Cross produce such a good interpretation. They are also helped by Stakee’s wonderful, distinctive voice, sounding like Jónsi Birgisson of Sigur Ros if he were on Stars in Their Eyes as Neil Young.

Stakee brings real soul to the table, and at times they remind me of Jeff Buckley as much as they do their more obvious influences such as Neil Young and The Band, or contemporaries such as Ryan Adams or The Jayhawks.

Tracks two and three build on the promising opener, with the verses of ‘Lucy Rider’ showcasing Stakee’s unique style wholly for the first time. It’s an odd style, which may divide opinion; critics may point to the lack of clarity which makes it hard to decipher many of the lyrics fully. I can forgive that for such soul though, which is never more evident come the core of the album. ‘Low Man’ and ‘I’ve Known For Long’ are as beautiful a pair of tracks as I have ever heard. As ‘I’ve Know For Long’ fades out, it’s clear to me just how talented a pair of songwriters Petter Ericson Stakee and co-founder Terry Wolfers are, and I’m falling in love with this band.

‘Old Man Chicago’ has the tough task of following the album’s two strongest songs, and it doesn’t disappoint as Alberta Cross turn their hand to gospel. Well, it worked once so why not try it again, and the gospel-blues of ‘The Devil’s All You Ever Had’ closes a memorable debut. “Nobody ever answered my prayers”, sings Petter. Well these guys certainly answered mine.