Stucco - LP1
Self-Released
Released on November 15th, 2024
On the night after I signed up to review Stucco’s debut album LP1, I had a dream that I was at a bar with Cups N Cakes founder Jeff McCallum. In this dream, we were talking about Stucco and how great they are. I don’t remember the exact words, but Jeff said something to the effect of how amazing it is that, despite being the corporate hellscape/cultural morass that it is, Calgary manages to produce true diamonds of artistic importance, like Stucco. And, considering my typically questionable dream logic, this one seems pretty spot-on even after waking and clearing the cobwebs. In their Spotify bio, the band describes themselves as carrying out “rhythmic explorations in the angularity of post-punk…in the dystopian wasteland that is Calgary, Alberta.”
Over the last couple years I’ve been able to catch Stucco play a few times, and it’s always an incredible show - although these occasions saw them playing as an opener or filling a spot in a large bill as one of the Palimino’s unofficial housebands, they usually stole the show and ended up being the highlight of the night. With the release of their aptly titled LP1, Stucco is emerging as one of the most exciting and noteworthy acts in the city and beyond. A follow up from their equally pithily-titled EP1, released in 2022, LP1 is the first full length from Stucco - and as titles go, these are great in that they are succinctly reflective of both discographic chronology and the band’s punchy, tight sound. A sound which, despite only having been a band for a couple of years, is mature and feels fully formed in a way that belies their relatively short tenure. A pulsating record, LP1 captures the band’s live, captivating energy, managing to sound stripped down and raw. At the same time, deft production from Chris Dadge, another diamond of the local scene, and thoughtful sprinkles of added percussion, horns and synths, add nuance and complexity.
LP1 is post-punk/post-rock done very, very, well. It is mathy, staccato, and jagged, but also approached with a sense of patience that gives the album deep pockets of groove to settle into. The rhythms are driving and sharp-edged, the basslines are bouncy and tight, the guitars cut with buzzsaw clarity. The lead vocals are served up in Mark Mothersbaugh-eque rants and yelps, with anti-capitalist lyrics that skewer the hypocrisy of our political leaders and the injustices of social and economic systems. It is anxious about the troubles the band sees around them, but at the same time, you can feel the joy and love that Stucco has poured into their creative output, and so the result is a record that is both angsty and very danceable. Giving equal respect to both the notes and the spaces between, Stucco has created a record that is stark and spacious, a gem of an album well worth a spin on your way through the streets of, as per Stucco’s Bandcamp bio, “the wicked, crumbling metropolis of our prairie city turned corporate theme park”.
- Chris Lammiman