Artist · chart history
The Rural Alberta Advantage
Band Toronto Canada Formed 2005
The Rural Alberta Advantage formed in 2005 in Toronto, Canada. The Rural Alberta Advantage has 7 chart appearances on 6 radio countdowns from 2 stations on RockLists, spanning 2009–2025. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Don't Haunt This Place”, which appears on 2 lists with a best position of #23. The station that charted The Rural Alberta Advantage most often is The Current (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN), with 5 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2009.
The Rural Alberta Advantage formed in Toronto in 2005, and they play like they're racing a blizzard: Nils Edenloff sings like he's shouting across a frozen prairie, Paul Banwatt drums like he's trying to break the ice, and Amy Cole fills in keyboards, bass and backing vocals. It's indie rock stripped to the studs, all nervous energy and raw-throated longing.
Hometowns, from 2008, is the sound of a small band punching way above its weight, and "Don't Haunt This Place" is its best argument, a breakneck rush of drums and heartbreak. They signed with Paper Bag Records in Canada and Saddle Creek Records for the rest of the world, and in 2011 they were up for the Polaris Music Prize.
Mended With Gold arrived in 2014 with "On the Rocks", and The Wild followed in 2017, with "Brother" carrying the same homesick charge. Five albums in, they still sound like a band that would rather play too hard than not hard enough.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by The Rural Alberta Advantage on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Don't Haunt This Place | 2 | #23 | – | 2009 | |
| 2 | Brother | 1 | #60 | – | 2017 | |
| 3 | 45/33 | 1 | #90 | – | 2015 | |
| 4 | Bad Luck Again | 1 | #70 | – | 2018 | |
| 5 | On the Rocks | 2 | #86 | – | 2014 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 531 | Don't Haunt This Place | 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now |
| 2025 | 846 | On the Rocks | 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now |
| 2018 | 70 | Bad Luck Again | WBER Listener Countdown 2018 |
| 2017 | 60 | Brother | The Current Top 89 Songs of 2017 |
| 2015 | 90 | 45/33 | WBER Listener Countdown 2015 |
| 2014 | 86 | On the Rocks | The Current Top 89 Songs of 2014 |
| 2009 | 23 | Don't Haunt This Place | The Current Top 89 Songs of 2009 |
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