The Albertans

The key behind the Albertans is the pairing of pleasant, sunny tunes to bold, dark lyrics. Though their stories are a bit vague, it's clear that there are usually some passive-aggressive frustrations, such as in "Megan": "why won't you text me back, what does this mean for now?" and "People Don't Go": "I'm fine, yeah, hollow and dry." It gets into that mindset of all smiles on the outside but gloomy thoughts behind the eyes, and let's face it, that can be easily identifiable. Besides that though, this Vancouver, BC, by way of Brooklyn, NY and back to Vancouver again five-piece are simply quirky and you want to get to know them further. "The Wake" is a gorgeously airy track mentioning suicide, "May" and "Mellow" both aim to slow things down, and "Jackpot" and "Furniture" are bouncy and imaginative, about family. New Age is a brightly tinted view of the buzzing band.