Midnight Channel, Imploders, Maneater, and Niall Mutter

Written By Jeff MacCallum

Midnight Channel - Alien Love Songs

It’s hard to believe little ol’ Lethbridge, Alberta (pop. 112,000) could sustain a band of this ilk. Thirteen people are listed as members of Midnight Channel on their Bandcamp credits for this record… and what a record it is! Jazz is the concrete, framing, and drywall of their structure but Japanese psych, Neo-soul, world, and hip-hop are the fancy, high-end finishes and custom furniture. Sit back in that inviting chase lounge and appreciate the next big thing in Canadian jazz fusion.

Imploders - Targeted For Termination

Toronto’s Imploders return with the force of asteroid big enough to survive our atmosphere and make contact with Earth, triggering global devastation. The aptly titled, Targeted For Termination comes in just as fast, just as hot, and just as brutal. This sophomore album is an all-out blitzkrieg of hardcore punk. Picture a gig in a dystopian end of days setting, the front person screams snot and snarl directly into your face as the band pummels your gut with a flurry of super-powered punches. Hey kids! This is what hardcore punk is supposed to sound like.

Maneater - Curb Your Appetite

Vancouver’s Maneater exploded into our consciousness in 2017 with their debut release but then they quickly fizzled into the abyss of bands with great potential that you wished kept playing. This year our wishes came true! Well… we actually knew they were back last year as they began a long roll out campaign of singles leading up to this incredible indie-pop-rock album. Now a duo, on Curb Your Appetite, DJ On (Non La) and Lindsay Stewart harmonize and swap vocal duties over fuzzed-out, guitar-rippin’, hook-filled pop-rockers about bummer relationships.

Niall Mutter - Silver

I was shovelling snow in our first major cold snap today, it was minus 25 and I had summer vibes blaring through my headphones as I dove into Niall Mutter’s new album, Silver. Wisps of 60s psych brush over a canvas of folk and country with California surf-pop vibes setting the tone for a heart warming palate of colours that permeate these eight songs. Listening to this work of art gives me a warming energy to get through the coldest days this Canadian winter has to offer.

Jeff MacCallum

Jeff MacCallum is our founder. He created Cups N Cakes simply because he had a love of local music. Soon the platform grew beyond the confines of his scene in Edmonton to include all of Canada.

"I did it all very DIY. Everything you see was me learning on the fly. I'm a carpenter not a musician, or a journalist, or a publicist... I'm a carpenter and a weird crazy music fan that thought he could do something fun that might benefit something I care about"

Over the years, MacCallum's commitment to elevating Canadian music earned him a spot as a Polaris Prize Juror, a WCMA Juror, a consultant for music festival curation, and a dear friend to independent music in Canada.

Next

Whitney K, Midnight Peg, The Besnard Lakes, and Julianna Riolino