Nora Kelly Band, BIG|BRAVE, Mad Iris, and Jolene Marie

Written By Jeff MacCallum

Nora Kelly Band - So Wrong For So Long

The sophomore album from Nora Kelly Band shows exponential growth in country lyricism and composition. I’ve been listening with awe to the words on So Wrong For So Long and trying to calibrate my brain to understand they were written by such a young person. This is exactly what country and western music should be, songs about the daily grind, songs about heartache, songs about murder, all set to a gorgeous backdrop by talented musicians who use their instruments to further cement the stories Nora Kelly is serenading us with through the speakers.

BIG|BRAVE - in grief or in hope

The latest album from Montreal’s BIG|BRAVE marks a shift to writing more guitar-forward songs while still maintaining the sonic onslaughts this prolific noise band has become known for unleashing. For the first time, longtime touring bassist Liam Andrews joined guitarist/vocalist Robin Wattie and guitarist Mathieu Ball in the studio to record. Heavily distorted guitars are looped to craft a sound that emulates the vicious aspects of drone, industrial, and noise-rock while Wattie’s vocals have the ability to turn these abrasive sounds into ethereal beauty. This is the best I’ve heard from BIG|BRAVE in years.

Mad Iris - Self Titled

Toronto’s Mad Iris have finally delivered us their debut album and it was worth the wait. After two years worth of singles and impressing audiences with their live performances that incorporates visuals, we finally have an album to enjoy. Songs move from sonic buzz saw to ethereal feedback laden beauty and I’m instantly transported back to the 90s. The band has a strong duality component to this album with two lead singers, two guitars, and a rhythm section each working with its counterpart extremely well and showcasing sounds I grew up with to perfection.

Jolene Marie - Sun Creek

Upon first listen, don’t dismiss this as just another folk album, I made that mistake a couple months back when it was first released. Sun Creek, the debut album from Calgary’s Jolene Marie is a masterclass in restraint and has been haunting me for days. Minimalist compositions give heady weight to the words Marie gentle sings which catalogue a particularly hard time in her life. Sometimes only a quiet acoustic guitar, or the wail of a pedal steel, or the hum of a cello are used while Marie haunts us with her voice. Headphones highly recommended and your favourite chill-out chair. Sit down, dive-in and truly experience Sun Creek.

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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TFLOLAG, Nikolas L. B., Chad Honda, and Cut Teeth