Anglo-Swedish folk rockers Alberta Cross caused a mere flutter of hand-clapped adulation when they released debut EP ‘The Thief And The Heartbreaker’ back in 2007. For some, this record was a timeless whiskey soaked stream of folk, blues and Americana gems, to the masses it went undetected. They have now thankfully emerged from the NYC underworld and returned with their full debut LP. Figureheads Petter Ericsson Stakee (guitarist/vocalist) and Terry Wolfers (bassist) have now procured a backing band and the mission statement is in place and launched skywards. And from the initial EP they have swiped the tremendous woozy blues of ‘Old Man Chicago’ and its title track for this full length. ‘ATX’ swerves the usual emotionally intense jams and vaults head first psychedelically with a frenzied rock blast, dusting off the guitars and adding zealous steely riffs. The haunting and watery guitars of ‘Rise From The Shadows’ is there best Verve-impression. With the band accompanying Oasis on thier last tour and the weight of this album will hopefully see Alberta Cross garner a little more recognition as they have created a truly beautiful record in ‘Broken Side Of Time’…
Last Monday Alberta Cross released their incredible debut LP, ‘Broken Side of Time’ and, with it, were the first band ever to use ‘Augmented Reality’ technology within their album artwork.
Oh thank you Lord, the full length debut from Alberta Cross is only a week away. This, the first single from their debut album is entitled ‘ATX’ and for those who have been there from the start, it’s a little different from the ‘The Thief & The Heartbreaker EP’ that warmed our folk hearts. This offering, has a steely backbone- serrated riffs, waves of guitars, Petter Ericsson Stakee’s soaring rock vocals and an insurgent intent, show that Alberta Cross mean business. And with the production techniques of Mike McCarthy (Dead Confederate, Spoon and Heartless Bastards) they have stepped away from their folk roots towards a more darker, rockier onslaught. This more nihilistic approach bears the influence of years of frustration for Stakee and Wolfers which look to be behind them now. The thumbs are pointing to the skies on this one guys!
Taken from two differing backgrounds, Peter Ericsson Stakee and Terry Wolfers managed to find a musical alliance which has paid off in abundance. Peter Ericsson Stakee, like his father Peter R. Ericsson a travelling musician, carried on in his footsteps. Being conversant in the ways of folk music helped Ericsson Stakee but one thing was still missing. Consequently after a long search that alliance and creative parity was found in the form of Wolfers. Their musical aspirations created a bond and a foundation which in turn became Alberta Cross.
