31. Rural Alberta Advantage - Edmonton

What if I'm only satisfied when I'm at home? That's the question in this track by another great Canadian export, joining the ranks of Broken Social Scene, the Arcade Fire, and Besnard Lakes. It's classic though not exactly conventional territory that is covered by the plaintive Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel) sound-alike Nils Edenloff to great effect. Guy loves girl, girl wants guy to move away with her - and here's where the twist comes in - guy doesn't want to leave his hometown. He has to leave his friends and the only place he knows; and what if she hangs him out to dry and suddenly he's in some other province (oh those crazy Canadians) alone? Clearly these guys have a love affair with Alberta that goes way beyond that love/hate thing that Springsteen has with Jersey and in a way its endearing to hear that respect permeate throughout their album (not surprisingly entitled Hometowns). As the song reaches its apex, heralded by some awesome work from the rhythm section, the listener isn't really left with any answers but that just becomes motivation to listen to the song again.