POPULATION II, Hearts of Palm, Ratpiss, and Mario2

Written By Jeff MacCallum

POPULATION II - Gimmicks

On Gimmicks, the new EP from the critically acclaimed prog/psych/krautrock band POPULATION II, the Montreal group turns the tempo down and ditches the guitars to explore a synthetic world. The tracks are eerie and futuristic, like the soundtrack to a science fiction movie that is set in a world of neon lights and flying cars. I’m transported to another time when I listen to this EP, the synths sparkle like the neon billboards imagined in this futuristic world but the feel is somehow still dark and slightly ominous. I’m truly enthralled with the direction taken by POPULATION II on this EP and would love to hear them dive deeper into this world.

Hearts of Palm - Chopping Down Trees

I discovered Hearts of Palm while combing through the Canadian campus radio charts as I do on the regular to stay informed on the various scenes in this massive country. I was immediately struck by the subtle guitar interplay, the two guitarists work off each other really well and set a lovely indie-pop backdrop for the vocalist’s twee lyrical delivery. Hearts of Palm aren’t reinventing the wheel when it comes to indie-rock/alt-pop but rather taking a sound we’ve heard before and refining it. They are definitely a new act worth a listen.

Ratpiss - Sex/Violence/Death

One day someone needs to get all the piss bands on a bill together, maybe they can get it sponsored by a porta-potty rental company or something. The odd thing about all these bands who embrace waste in their name, they’re all really good. Montreal’s Ratpiss play crusty grindcore with sludgy metal undertones. The six songs on their latest EP have a runtime of just over eight minutes and that’s the perfect length for something this “scream-in-your-face” noisy and “punch-you-in-the-gut” abrasive.

Mario2 - Perpetual European Style Freshness

The bio for this band reads: Mario2 are Princesse, Luigi and Toad. They separately either won a Juno, a Polaris or a drawing contest in elementary school. Keeping the Nintendo joke alive, their debut album was mastered by Bowser. In case you haven’t realized, this is a band that doesn’t take itself seriously. Their debut album is fun and quirky with songs that channel The Talking Heads through a Ween-inspired lens. I guarantee you’ll want to dig in deeper to the odd, experimental rock music of Mario2.

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.

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