Cascadia Calling 2026.3.2
"never learn my lesson, always be government's obsession"
We’ve been getting our first spring-like days here in Seattle. I’ve been too busy, for the most part, to enjoy them. The closest I’ve come are weekend evenings out on the town with my Brigid or friends or the occasional walk to a coffee shop for a change of work scenery.
This past weekend Brigid and I went to a new omakase-only sushi restaurant in my neighborhood. We’re spoiled here in Seattle with a surplus of truly excellent sushi restaurants. This new contender, Shomon Kappo Sushi, is easily one of the best in a crowded field. It’s not particularly surprising, given that the head chef at Shomon is Masaki Nishioka, formerly the executive chef of Shiro’s.
The food itself was excellent, the coursing and presentation was impeccable, and the sake recommendations were fantastic. We’ll definitely be back.
I’ve talked at length about Kneecap in this space before, so I couldn’t in good conscience neglect to mention their new single, “Smugglers & Scholars”. It’s immediately become my favorite track of theirs (displacing “Guilty Conscience”). The sinister, textured synth underlying the simple beats and woop woop samples provide a strong framework for the vocals. The vocals, as typical with Kneecap, oscillate between Irish and English, blending them in a way that feels completely seamless.
The flow and effortless bilingual lyricism are tighter than many other Kneecap tracks, which does good service to the biting lyrics. Kneecap’s portrayal of the political and economic life of Northern Ireland and their unapologetic class consciousness (both working and criminal) give weight and sincerity to what otherwise might just be a fun banger.
Their new album Fenian is out April 24th, 2026.
The duo is an underrated configuration for rock music. The constraints force a certain amount of creativity for the creation of melody, harmony and texture. Local Seattle duo The Lichen Hearts make the most of those creative forcing functions. In addition to creating a big, bold post-punk sound with just drums, guitars, and vocals, they retain a lo-fi charm of the kind that’s unique to promising local bands and nearly impossible to fake. No amount of artifice can capture the authenticity of recording with limited resources and lots of passion.
I only recently discovered The Lichen Hearts via their 2025 release Feed The Bear. “Dashiell” is one of my favorite track off of it. The bouncy guitars and clattering drums could feel overly busy, but they instead give the impression of well-crafted and intentional borderline chaos. The bridge has a fuzzy, lazy Pixies-ish feel to it that I was immediately charmed by.
You should definitely check out the full album and if you like what you hear, you can catch them at Belltown Yacht Club on March 19th.