I have listened to a lot of music. Over the past few years, I have come to accept that there is very little that musically surprises me anymore. I am not saying that there is nothing good out there, to the contrary there has been a lot of good music lately, it is simply that the music I have listened to recently lacks staying power. When I say staying power, I mean that I can play the album a week, month, year or years later and not be embarrassed. The Rural Alberta Advantage debut album Hometowns caught me off guard.