Burning Cross

Alberta Cross’s debut Broken Side of Time was one of the last great rock albums of 2009, a big, lumbering buffalo of a record that married old school heartlands rock (especially Neil & Crazy Horse) with, um, new school heartlands rock (My Morning Jacket, Kings Of Leon). All the more surprising then that guitarist and vocalist Petter Ericson Stakee was born in Sweden and raised in London, while bassist Terry Wolfers hails from the East End. Like so many young men before them, the pair went west to seek their fortunes, fetching up in Brooklyn and recruiting personnel from all over the States.

“Our guitar player’s from San Francisco, our drummer’s from Santa Barbara and our keyboard player is from Minneapolis, so it’s a mix of people inspired by different things,” says Petter. “Me and Terry started off the band in London and took it to New York, so we had to audition new guys, but we were really lucky: they were all friends of friends, and all on the same level. You always get inspired by your surroundings, so I always feel like we’re moving.”
Never mind the bucolics. Broken Side of Time could in no way be described as a New York sounding album, but there is an undercurrent of urban alienation and high-rise tension queering the river-deep-mountain-high vibe.
“I think we’re definitely inspired by the things we’re going through in New York,” Petter admits, “but all the bands in Brooklyn sound so different, you’ve got everything from Yeasayer to Vampire Weekend. For me personally, this album sounds like a big mix of everything that’s inspired me throughout my whole life. I was into so much different stuff when I was younger, everything from Depeche Mode to Nick Cave to Neil Young, loads of indie bands. Early Verve and stuff like that. They were such an amazing live band, every gig they would do was kind of like a religious experience. They sounded big but they also sounded alternative. It’s kind of the same with us.”
Certainly, on tunes like ‘Song Three Blues’, ‘ATX’ and the title track, one imagines hardcore musicians schooled in roots rock. The vibe is woodsy, sure, but there might just be a serial killer lurking in those pines.
“I want to sound like we’re playing now, I don’t want to sound like the back of the ‘60s or ‘70s or wherever,” maintains Petter. “I mean, I love that music, and it’s hard for a lot of modern bands to sound that good because the times were so different, but if it just sounded like a retro record I’d probably give up.”
However, the band are in the slightly bizarre position of playing two consecutive support slots in the O2 Arena next month, with the Dave Matthews Band on March 9, and with Lynyrd Skynyrd the following night.
“How funny is that! Our management called us and we were like, ‘What?’ Sometimes people say, ‘You guys sound a bit like southern rock’, and I’ve never really listened to southern rock, so I thought it was pretty funny. It’s gonna be class. How big is that place?”
Big. 14,000, standing.
“Really? We toured with Oasis in England a year ago, and that was a 9 or 10,000 indoor arena tour, and you just open up and go for it. You’ve got 45 minutes. People are a bit further away so you have to find a way to connect with them. We always enjoy playing bigger stages, so it’s gonna be a blast.”