If you’re like me, you’ve probably been wondering what happened to Operation Makeout, a fun Vancouver punk band that vaguely reminded people of Sleater-Kinney, thanks to vocalist Katie Lapi’s thousand-watt vocals. Considering that Operation Makeout’s disappeance after their second album, Hang Loose, was barely noticed, I’m going to assume most people aren’t like me. But it’s worth checking out Hang Loose because it’s the last material we have of a group just hitting its stride. Thanks to the meatier production, Jesse Gander’s expanded vocal duties and some really catchy tunes, Operation Makeout had found its own identity on Hang Loose—an identity they took on a cross-country tour before going on permanent hiatus. That was three years ago.

Since then, I moved out to Vancouver and lived there for a year before returning to central Canada, all the while wondering what the Operation Makeout alums were up to. For whatever reason, I’d ignored all the posters for Cadeaux shows. I’d mixed them up for some reason with Bakelite, a local duo that specializes in noisy keyboards, raucous electronic effects, and shouted teutonic vocals about the Dewey decimal system. Yes, it’s as awesome as it sounds, but I can’t go out to see bands just because they’ve got a cool schtick (death electro-metal band does library cataloguing systems!), even if they do seem like really nice chaps. Little did I know that Cadeaux isn’t anything like Bakelite, and was in fact harbouring an Operation Makeout member. Katie Lapi is one of the vocalists behind this angular pop combo, which shares much of the same fun energy Operation Makeout exuded on record, but adds in complicated guitar licks and drums more reminiscent of post-punk leaning bands like Controller.Controller than Operation Makeout.

In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb and say Cadeaux is better than Controller.Controller; while the Toronto band is obviously very accomplished and well-liked, in terms of sheer energy, Cadeaux have them beat. Even the slow-burn songs like “Scissors & Tape” are more dynamic than anything off Controller.Controller’s X-Amounts, and “Things That I Know About People I Don’t” is more exciting to boot. If not for my apparent aversion to library cataloguing systems, I might’ve been able to see Cadeaux in concert before I left Vancouver. Don’t you make the same mistake!

(But at least I got to see the Cinch before they broke up, I guess.)