Love At The 'Cross Roads

From the Department of Better Late Than Never, we've recently become enamored with London-based duo Alberta Cross. Maybe its this soft spot we have for tunes unabashedly informed by Southern Rock, but the group's debut EP, "The Thief & the Heartbreaker" is, well, heartbreaking.

Petter Ericson Stakee's soul-filled and wailing vocals perform the task of telling a story and dotting the rootsy atmosphere with perfectly layered echoes, ooos and ahhhs. The effects and the grungey guitar rhythms will certainly please the My Morning Jacket or Band Of Horses fan; the uptempo number "Hard Breaks" resonates the Byrds or Crosby Stills And Nash; "The Devil's All You Ever Had" makes us very sorry but happy that the devil is all we ever had.

Stereogum summarized the group very well: "The worst you can say for the tunes is that they aren't exactly original, but Alberta's got the dusty, gospel-tinged Americana rock thing down."

"The Thief & the Heartbreaker" was released in September and fans can expect a full-length come spring.

Also, one of the dudes looks like Tom Petty and Kid Rock mixed. Thank you and goodnight.