Massachusetts power-emo band unveil anthemic lead single about the pressures to be emotionally regulated on Wednesday, January 28
Debut album ‘Place Memory’ set for May 1 release on Wanna Hear It Records
So much of what we learn about life can be attributed to just hanging out on porches with strangers. It often provides a fresh outlook and an objective perspective, as the random counsel of someone momentarily passing through our lives can potentially have a sudden and lasting impact. And that unsolicited advice often sticks with us long after the person has moved on to someone else’s stoop.
Ali Lipman recalls a time when she was visiting Richmond in her early 20s, and the Cape Crush vocalist and guitarist was having a spontaneous conversation about her life’s woes of the moment. The discussion stuck with her in the years that followed, and helped inspire “Calm & Delivered,” the Massachusetts power-emo band’s fervent new single, set for release on Wednesday, January 28.
The video, featuring a very special green Volkswagen Cabrio, was directed and edited by Cait Brown, with cinematography and coloring by Chris Tremblay, and it was filmed in Newbury, not far from the group’s home base.
“‘Calm & Delivered’ is about the pressure to be emotionally regulated when everything around you is overstimulating,” Lipman shares. “It’s inspired by my journey as a parent, which is often too loud, as well as my journey as a woman, where setting boundaries is often interpreted poorly… So it’s really about finding your inner-power as a woman and not being afraid of your rage or frustration.”
And the determination to find and cultivate that strength can be traced to what that new friend told her on that otherwise ordinary night: “She implored me to ‘go crazy sometimes,’” Lipman adds. “To stop waiting in line, to stop toeing the line, to stop being afraid to throw my weight around sometimes.”
That ethos has carried Cape Crush in their first few years as a band, bringing together longtime mainstays of the New England DIY and hardcore scenes (Lipman is treasurer and co-founder of Salem’s new all-ages space Moon Base One), with Lipman joined by guitarist and confidant James Christopher, bassist Jake Letizia, and new drummer recruit Mike O’Toole, who has stepped in for co-founder and compatriot Cody Rico, forever an honorary member who hung up his drumsticks due to health reasons.
With its euphoric and anthemic drive, “Calm & Delivered,” is a swirling propulsion of emo, post-hardcore, and alt-rock, channeling the band’s shared love for The Get Up Kids and Weakerthans with flourishes of that dog. and The Breeders coursing through its sonic energy. It’s also the first single from Cape Crush’s forthcoming debut album, Place Memory, set for release May 1 on Wanna Hear It Records.
“We’re known for our upbeat power-emo songs, with big leads, big harmonies, and big refrains,” Lipman shares. “This song perfectly encapsulates what we do best. There’s plenty of surprises to come on Place Memory, but ‘Calm & Delivered’ is the perfect definition of a Cape Crush anthem.”
The album follows the band’s 2023 declaration-of-arrival EP San Souci, and a pair of 2025 offerings in last summer’s “Blank Wall” and a winter triple-split with Good June and Impossible Dog. Those releases helped the band get nominated for Punk/Hardcore Artist of the Year at the Boston Music Awards, and earned festival gigs from Pouzza Fest in Montreal to The Fest in Florida, playing 15 club and venue shows over the year in the various spaces n’ places in between.
“Calm & Delivered” also arrives just after their “On The Lam” weekender tour with fellow Boston scene standouts Blame It On Whitman, playing shows in Manchester (NH), Brooklyn (NY), and Westfield (MA) before wrapping at The Silhouette in Allston on January 26 (see the poster below for the itinerary).
“The best thing about being in Cape Crush is getting to do something creative every week with our closest friends,” Lipman says. “The second best part of being in Cape Crush is the music community we’re part of. Nothing is more motivating and inspiring than being one band in a wave of so many great people and talented musicians.”
Written by the quartet – Lipman, Christopher, Letizia, and Rico – and recorded and produced by Zach Weeks at God City Studio in Salem, “Calm & Delivered” also features keys and auxiliary percussion by Weeks, with additional keys by Good June’s Walker Bristol. It’s a special one for Cape Crush, as it was the first track arranged by the full band for Place Memory, and since it was first written right around the time of recording San Souci, it has since become a staple of the band’s high-energy live set.
It’s not so much a bridge into this new era of material, but it does showcase an evolution of sound, one that’s natural for a young band finding its creative and expressive footing.
“San Souci is home to some of my oldest songs, and the first songs that we ever played together as a band,” Lipman says. “We were still feeling out our sound, and what we do well together. Working with James, who really loves big rock sounds, really defined our early direction as a band. Personally, it was like therapy to release those songs. Many years of things I wanted to say, and when you say (or sing) things enough, the weight of the meaning lifts. The lyrics on San Souci are all deeply personal, and while there is much of Place Memory that is also quite personal, I used that early experience to become more of a student of song.”
Lipman adds: “I have been more interested in narrative storytelling and trying to bring that into the structure of a song. I have also been more interested in how to write for the band, rather than how to write an interesting song for me to sing on an acoustic guitar. I think that has a big impact on the evolution of our sound as a band.”
Some of the songs on Place Memory were first conceived as far back as four years ago, but needed additional time to find their current form – and voice. As Cape Crush navigate through life and all the ups and downs it brings, the songs were allowed to develop organically.
Now is the time, to borrow a phrase from that stranger all those years ago, for Cape Crush to go crazy, to stop waiting, and to throw their aural weight around. The band is ready, the scene is ready – and “Calm & Delivered” is the foursome’s first salvo, extending a personal invite to the listener through a song that grabs hold and never lets go. It’s a fitting metaphor for a band that is in this together, forever.
“Sometimes it can feel frustrating to have music take so long to put out, but what motivates us as a band is creating community,” Lipman concludes. “We’ve had a lot of opportunities to create community and release music while we’ve been putting the finishing touches on Place Memory. We have a different lineup, we’ve gotten tighter as a band, and more efficient as songwriters. We are extremely proud of this album and of the creative moment it is representative of. We can’t wait to share it.”
Cape Crush is a power-emo band hailing from the North Shore of Massachusetts. The band consists of Ali Lipman on guitar and vocals, James Christopher on guitar, Jake Letizia on bass guitar, and Mike on drums. Cape Crush released their debut EP, San Souci, in April 2023, and debut album Place Memory is set for release in May 2026, preceded by a string of four singles, starting with “Calm & Delivered” in late January.
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Cape Crush is:
Ali Lipman: Vocals and guitar
James Christopher: Guitar
Jake Letizia: Bass
Mike O’Toole: Drums
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‘Calm & Delivered’ single credits:
Written by Ali Lipman, James Christopher, Jake Letizia, and Cody Rico
Recorded and produced by Zach Weeks at God City Studio in Salem, MA
Drums performed by Cody Rico
Keys performed by Zach Weeks and Walker Bristol
Auxiliary Percussion by Zach Weeks
Video directed and edited by Cait Brown
Video cinematography and coloring by Chris Tremblay
Bio:
Cape Crush is a power-emo band hailing from the North Shore of Massachusetts. The band consists of Ali Lipman on guitar and vocals, James Christopher on guitar, Jake Letizia on bass guitar, and Mike on drums. Cape Crush released their debut EP, San Souci, in April 2023, and debut album Place Memory is set for release in May 2026, preceded by a string of four singles, starting with “Calm & Delivered” in late January.
