Alberta Cross ‘Broken Side of Time’

Words by Audra Tracy

Transplanted from London, the founding members of Alberta Cross showed up on our shores dressing the part. Petter Ericson Stakee and Terry Wolfers certainly have that dirty bohemian look down – donning the scruffy beards, the stringy long hair – they imply trouble. You know, the fun kind of trouble.

With Broken Side of Time, the alternative rock band gets electrified, a welcome change from their acoustic-based 2007 debut The Thief and the Heartbreaker. Recorded in Austin and mixed at the famed Electric Lady Studios, the new record is deeply atmospheric and seeped in reverb.

The title track thrusts at you with crazy eyes and trembling hands. Stakee’s manic vocals lead you into the shadows of that decadent dark alley your mommy always warned you about. The squealing guitar riffs of ‘ATX’ mercilessly rip right through your feeble ears. The gang also revamped a few tracks from their EP, like the soulful ‘Old Man Chicago’, where you can tell the production value has leapt a few levels since their first pressing.

Their new blues sound is hip enough to compare to IT-bands like Kings of Leon, but AC is also original enough to maintain its integrity as a ‘band to watch’. America needs more artists like Alberta Cross to ride the resurgence of true rock and roll. To stomp the stage and howl into the mic and remind us all how we are not worthy.