Most Anticipated - Summer 2025
It’s time for a Spring check-in: Cups N Cakes volunteers chime in on which releases they’re looking forward to in the Summer of 2025.
Chris Lammiman:
It’s been a little slow in coming, but judging by the crocuses on the hillside and the crabgrass in the yard, spring has finally arrived on the prairies. The changing season brings a sense of anticipation for longer days, warmer nights, fresh and green things, and some very exciting things on the release horizon. For me, this time of year is when I shake off the sad and moody playlists of the winter and gravitate towards stuff with a bit more energy and drive. So with that in mind, a few of the top I’m looking forward to:
PUP is now a household name, with good reason. The first singles from their May 2 full-length Who Will Look After The Dogs? deliver more of their great post/pop/punk funness we all know and love. This will be PUP’s first LP since 2022, and, speaking of bands who haven’t released an album since 2022, Preoccupations are returning with a new record on May 9. On Ill At Ease, it sounds like the band is veering more into newwave territory, so that will be an interesting trajectory to hear. If you like a little more edge to your spring listening, Mares of Thrace will be putting out The Loss on May 15. Building on their 2025 proggy, grief-raw ripper of an EP, The Fourth Stage: Bargaining, the full-length promises excellent things from the hardcore/doom/noise duo. Finally, looking a bit further ahead, I’m super stoked for Penny & The Pits’ Liquid Compactor. Penelope Stevens of Motherhood fame takes centre stage on their new project, with the debut album expected June 27. The glimpses we’ve received so far forecast some exceptional post-rock delights.
Jeff MacCallum:
Chris said it perfectly! The days are getting long, the trees are starting to bud, and I’m seeking out upbeat tunes for the yard work season. First and foremost, I’m planning on rocking the new album from a noise punk band called SENTRIES. This is the project from Kim Elliot, a Lethbridge, Alberta artist that has really piqued my interest. The new album is called Gem Of The West and it’s out this Friday! Now, moving far away from noise-punk, Montreal’s Elle Barbara is dropping Word On The Street on June 27th and I can’t wait. This record should prove to be in a class of its own as the Montreal artist collected a who’s who to make avant-garde music that leans heavily on jazz, soul, pop, and psych. Moving towards another genre mash-up, Quinton Barnes is releasing his second album of 2025 in June. The first single is a departure from his hip-hop/hyperpop past so I’m extremely interested in hearing this one. I’m also intrigued by the advance singles from Montreal’s SamWoy. There’s a lot going on in these songs but they work and I’m looking forward to hearing how they come together in the context of an album. Even Sad Boys Like To Have Fun is out May 30th. Finally, Edmonton’s Smokey delivers psychedelic twang that is exactly the sound I’m most excited by these days. After slow releasing singles for over two years, I’m told the album will be out this summer, complete with a vinyl release. With releases like these four on the horizon, I’ll be jumping for joy to mow the lawn!
Craig Martell:
Looking forward to mowing the lawn? Yeeeeesh. The summertime is misery for me. I don’t function above 20 degrees, and Edmonton is a bad city to live in for that. Jeff and Chris can mow the lawn and hang out in parks and I’ll be indoors wearing pants that go all the way down and setting my central air so cold that it freezes the piss inside of my body. Anyway, I don’t ever really need to listen to songs seasonally.
I can’t wait to hear the first full length from Toronto’s Bitch Stick. They just birthed the first track, Useless into the world. It’s dirty, sweet and dark. Like an ice cream you dropped into the dirt because it was too hot out to stay focussed. Sticking with Ontario, North Bay’s Peach Pact are also releasing a debut album, Die Hydrated. Based on the first track, A.Ajax, Die Hydrated will be loud and fuzzy, like a peach you brought to life that is begging for death. Another great Ontario band releasing new stuff is Chinese Medicine, who are releasing their full length follow-up to their Die Aspora EP, The Trans Agenda. Their Bandcamp has pre-orders set up and you can listen to the song “Acetone”. The lead guitar rips from the start and the vocals are almost Danziggy, which is the biggest compliment in the world, coming from me. Lastly, and somehow still in Ontario, I’m excited for the new full-length by Born Ruffians, Beauty’s Pride. I went on a date with a cute person in 2008 and they were wearing a Born Ruffians shirt. I was like “oh, are you a big fan of The Born Ruffians?” and she was like, “No. It’s just a shirt I own.” How cool is that? We dated for a year or two and I listened to their first EP and first LP a lot. She never really got into them and broke up with me. I never listened to any of the 7 LPs and 3 EPs they’ve released since, but this is the year!
JEFF, COME MOW MY LAWN!
Sean Davis Newton:
As per usual, there is an overwhelming amount of good Canadian music coming down the pipeline, and I agree with Craig: if I’m going to even try to listen to everything I’m excited for, I would like Jeff or Chris to mow my lawn.
Moving on.
The record I’m looking forward to most this Summer comes from none other than Edmonton’s Cassia Hardy. Many of you will know Cassia as the frontwoman of Wares, who went on indefinite hiatus last year. Hardy has spent the time since honing a collection of songs that will make an appearance on her upcoming solo album In Relation. Both songs hone in on the way that capital displaces community, and Hardy’s melancholic yet scathing reflections on our tendency to put profit over people hits home in 2025.
There’s a few unannounced but expected releases coming this summer as well: I’m particularly excited about the chance of a new album from Edmonton’s Smokey, British Columbia’s Phantom Orchid, and New Brunswick’s Penny & the Pits.