Cootie Catcher’s music is a kaleidoscope of sounds and textures, the product of four people with similar but distinctive points of view. The Canadian band — keyboardist/singer Sophia Chavez, bassist/singer Anita Fowl, guitarist/singer Nolan Jakupovski and drummer Joseph Shemoun — emerged out of Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto on the banks of Lake Ontario. It’s a place, like any other, that couldn’t help but influence its inhabitants’ perspective in particular ways — in this case, as a “little brother” to its bustling neighbors to the west.
Cootie Catcher began as a creative outlet for Fowl and Jakupovski, a couple grappling with the isolation of the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020. The duo started recording songs at home, modest efforts marked by their intertwining vocals, a drum machine and a mess of manipulated electronics and sound effects. They self-released their full-length debut in 2022 called “stupid is as stupid does.” It wasn’t long before they recruited Chavez, a friend who added another voice and aesthetic presence to the mix. Shemoun joined in time for their second album, 2025’s “Shy at first,” an aptly titled collection of catchy, off-kilter indie pop that recalls a caffeinated version of The Moldy Peaches.
The foursome’s just-released new album, “Something We All Got,” is a step up, their most cohesive and dynamic set of songs to date. It’s also their first collaboration with respected Washington, D.C.-based indie label Carpark Records, another sign of Cootie Catcher’s upward trajectory.
Speaking by phone from their apartment in Toronto, Fowl and Jakupovski admit “Something We All Got” represents the next phase in Cootie Catcher’s creative evolution, the culmination of their growth as artists and musicians.
“I think if we grew up in Toronto, we would have been a lot different,” Fowl says when asked about their Mississauga origins. “I think us growing up in Mississauga definitely give us a sense of like, ‘We’re bored, you know?’ We’ve been friends a long time. The three of us — Nolan, Sophia and I — all went to the same high school. You’re able to kind of find your own thing in a pretty unique way because you have less influence around you. You figure out a lot of things on your own, which I think is really special.”
Their unique sonic approach fuels album highlight “Puzzle Pop,” which opens with a whistle — a “here we go!” tone setter — a circular acoustic guitar riff and a shuffle beat before Jakupovski’s modest voice delivers this conceptual call to arms: “A little effort goes a long way.” Moments later, gang vocals relay that, “I know what it’s like to walk a day in your shoes,” a subtle but effective shift in tone aided by deft cymbal work and interlocking guitar and bass lines. The song’s opening third culminates with Jakupovski’s chopped and screwed vocals and what sounds like a mandolin solo. The cumulative effect is a long way from the band’s initial bedroom recordings.
The production, courtesy of Jakupovski, is crisp and clear, a new layer of confidence anchoring the album’s 14 songs.
“We just wanted it to sound a little more ‘professional,’ I suppose,” Jakupovski says. “I think the next one will sound even cleaner and punchier. We’re not professionals at this, but we want it to sound like it. I know how to record stuff at home. I know my way around Pro Tools and Logic. On ‘Puzzle Pop,’ we were just trying to make a fun song. We just wanted to make fun, happy music. It doesn’t really sound like it all the time but we try. Fun is step number one. There are not many songs that are too long or too boring.”
Cue “Gingham Dress,” two minutes and 17 seconds of jangly guitars, hyperactive rhythms and Chavez’s playful vocals, which explore a relationship on the verge of … something: “Pseudo wife, I tried my best/Convalescence next/If you wanna do it, you can hang/I’m not gonna put in any work.”
There’s an unguarded element to the band’s lyrical approach that synchs well with their lighthearted, deceptively simple musical excursions.
“People have been calling us twee, the childlike vibe,” Jakupovski says. “I think we all are very personal songwriters, but I think we’re all also experiencing things that are quite universal to a lot of people. Even as personal as it is, it’s still relatable, and that’s why people connect with it. There’s a little bit of something for everyone.”
Cootie Catcher’s songwriting process is uncommonly democratic.
“I usually start the basic idea, and I sort of present it to the band,” Jakupavski says. “It’s kind of just like who we all think would make a good fit for singing it, and then we try it out as a band. Whoever wants to sing it will write the melody and lyrics on top of it. It’s equally myself, Anita and Sofia.”
But don’t forget Shemoun — his addition was a solidifying force in what the foursome has become as a creative unit.
“I saw someone say that he’s a very over-caffeinated drummer,” Jakupovski says, laughing. “I think that’s pretty accurate. He’s very stylistic and upfront. He’s really glued us together. He makes it a lot easier to play live, that’s for sure, because it’s easy to play along with him. He gets a lot of compliments.”
Carpark employed an old-school rollout of the new record, each single and video spaced out to leave listeners wanting more: “Gingham Dress” dropped in November 2025, followed by the rollicking “Straight Drop” in December and “Puzzle Pop” in January.
“They’re doing a great job marketing it right now,” Fowl says. “The biggest thing for us, as a Canadian band, to have an American label is really essential to kind of get out of the (Canadian) bubble. That’s a huge factor. It feels like we’re slowly sneaking into the United States.”
Another obvious departure is “Something We All Got’s” cover art, which features the band members’ images for the first time. Shot amid a stark white background, each member looks straight at the camera, deadpan expressions relaying a seemingly simple message — here we are, plain and unfiltered. It’s almost as if they’re saying this is the real, fully formed version of Cootie Catcher.
“We kind of did see it as our debut, because it’s our debut with Carpark,” Fowl said. “The cover image was almost telepathic, like we’re on the same boat. Like, ‘Yeah, let’s put our faces on it.’ It was a stylistic choice for me. I think it was time to put a face to the music.”
Cootie Catcher plays March 22 at Lambda Research, which is located in Fairfax at 5521 Fair Ln.