FRIGS, Dead Bob, Atsuko Chiba, and lushclot

Written By Jeff MacCallum

FRIGS - MUSIC AS DISASTER

This isn’t actually a new EP. This isn’t actually what I want. For those willing to support bands with their hard earned money, they may already know these four tracks as they were originally released on a five song EP in 2020 called RAVE AND RUPTURE IN MUSIC AS DISASTER, a release that was made available for purchase on Bandcamp for 48hrs. Its post-punk, sonic mastery had Cups N Cakes putting it on our “Best EPs of 2020” list. If you missed it then, the band have signalled their return by re-releasing it. But new music is actually what I want, and it’s very exciting to hear FRIGS say they’ll be delivering us that in the future.

Dead Bob - Nothing Changes Everything

The closest thing to new music from the iconic Vancouver punk band Nomeansno comes in the form of Dead Bob, the project from John Wright, drummer of the legendary band. On Nothing Changes Everything, Dead Bob have turned into a real band and not just Wright’s solo project. The new album bounces and chugs along with ferocious pace and unpredictable twists and turns. Like a race car driver off his meds, hurtling around the track against the flow of the other drivers, Dead Bob are unpredictable and wild. Sometimes you need the old dudes to show the young-uns what’s up.

Atsuko Chiba - Self Titled

Opening with a meandering jaunt of proggy-psych and broadway-villainesque vocal delivery, the first track on the latest album from Montreal’s Atsuko Chiba sets the stage for an eclectic journey. Soaring builds and soothing releases come and go with a wash of euphoric sound waves that rinse out your mind. This band never fails to impress and this self titled effort plays beautifully from beginning to end.

lushclot - lice

Lushclot’s Raquel (Rocky) Mann embodies punk-rock snarl like very few can. Her delivery is grizzled, gnarly, and raw and she uses it to spit pointed and poetic societal rips while the rest of this Edmonton quartet pummel out a wall of noise-rock of post-hardcore. The band behind Mann deliver urgent energy with enough room to amplify Mann’s dark vocals that boast imagery that would make a soccer mom faint.

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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Daniel Isaiah, Ping Pong Go, Pastel Blank, and blesse