Alberta Cross call New York home. In fact they are gathered from around the globe and come together as like-minded souls with a universal sound. Formed from the core musical and song-writing relationship between vocalist/guitarist Petter Ericson Stakee and bassist Terry Wolfers, they set about writing songs that sound as warm and familiar as well-worn classics and yet they don't sound as though they're cut out of any single time period or genre. Their songs exist in a realm of unlikely combinations and contrasts: imagine modern Northern indie UK rock crossed with The Band and Neil Young. Inject equal doses of driving soul from contemporaries like The Black Keys and The White Stripes, add the style and swagger of classic Afghan Whigs and you might start to describe their sound.

Petter grew up in a small town close to Stockholm, Sweden spending much of his early years traveling with his singer-songwriter father. His was a musical family and he spent many formative years around recording studios and a variety of musicians. However, with this came a palpable dissatisfaction with the trained, by-the-book sounds of his surroundings. "I just didn't feel like there was any soul to the music in Sweden," he explains. "I felt like everything was too... right. Everything sounds too perfect and too polished."

Petter moved to London to immerse himself in the inspiring sounds he'd heard emanating from the UK. He met Terry and a strong musical bond was formed over their mutual love for old Motown and soul, as well as Stone Roses and The Verve. Soon relocating to New York, the pair enhanced their sound with guitarist Sam Kearney, keyboardist Alec Higgins and drummer Austin Beede.

The band's debut EP, The Thief and The Heartbreaker was released in late 2007. The release consisted of self-produced demos although there is very little that is 'demo' like about the lush production and supreme quality of the seven featured songs. In the months following its release the initial run quickly sold out bolstering the EP's popularity to cult like proportions. To satisfy public demand The Thief and The Heartbreaker was recently reissued by ARK RECORDINGS coinciding with support slots for Oasis (at Noel Gallagher's personal request) and a heaving sold out headline show in East London.

The band is currently recording songs for a debut album due for a June 2009 release. Expect great things.