Before Saddle Creek scooped them up to re-release their debut album, the Rural Alberta Advantage were considered in many circles as Canada’s best unsigned band. Then after Hometowns dropped to a wider audience they propelled into the national indie spotlight.

Both accolades are very deserving as that album melded a great mix of folk rock with just the right amount of synth work, all topped off with Nils Edenloff’s twangy yelp. It worked smashingly. With such a success it must have felt like there is no need to tinker with the working formula.

At least this is how their new album sounds. Departing finds the RAA in a basic holding position — not advancing, not falling back. This tactic has its advantages and disadvantages (no pun attended), but in the end it’s a quality listen.

The uniqueness of Edenloff’s vocals is still the gem. Possibly the furthest thing one would expect to enjoy on tape, it comes off as whiney at times, drunken crooning at others — complex and compelling from start to finish. “Two Lovers” kicks off with his unrestrained wail over a slow tempo acoustic guitar.

Here and throughout he weaves tales of clinging to love, set against a rustic setting. So when he sings “If I ever hold you again/ I’ll hold you tight enough to crush your veins,” picking up the last syllable of each line with that howl, nothing comes off as more sincere.

“Tornado” features the band at its finest. It’s rambunctious for the majority before breaking down to an almost a cappella bridge. Yet the keyboards on tracks like “the Breakup” and “North Star” bring out the lack of heavier synths on Departing, something that attributed to its predecessor’s most exciting parts. But elsewhere, these songs seem to mirror those of that previous release.

Even the album artwork of Departing echoes Hometowns. Where their debut featured a painted landscape — atmosphere blue meeting the dirt yellow field at the hilly skyline –  this album greets you with a fog blinded street, only the headlights of a car peaking over the horizon.

The album’s title could also sum up the project very fittingly. As the cover shows light in the clouded distance, this could be the band “departing” their “hometown” and leaving behind familiar terrain for something illuminated ahead. The album ends quietly with two stripped tracks themed at bidding farewell, “Coldest Days” and “Good Night.”

By the time they say goodbye we’ve taken another ride through their great North and like any scenic route, it can be a beautiful journey even if the scenery looks familiar.