| · The moody country blues.
Despite the fact that the Edmonton scene has given us the near-flawless Old Reliable, I never think of our friends to the north as a hotbed for evocative roots artists. So, imagine my surprise when I saw AA Sound System open for Calexico at this year’s jazz fest. Lily Plain… You’re Hardly Poor is an epic collection of twangy, sad songs delivered by this Edmonton three-piece masquerading as so much more. The crisp and intricate guitar lines are supplemented by phased-out electronics and subtle samples that bring a contemporary edge to a vintage sound. With songs that swing from cowpoke laments and Latin-tinged minimalism to Neil Young-inspired freak-outs, the band takes the best parts of many similar genres and moulds them into a wandering yet cohesive whole. The album standout "I Don’t Know About You" with its muted chords and longing chorus is as big as the New Saskatchewan sky.
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