01 i write in the language of killers / 02 lonely settler at the end of the world remembers snacks / 03 the similarities between two old professions / 04 the shop that i am in / 05 bring the house down / 06 spooky season in America / 07 the lifeguard's surfboard is trying / 08 dogs are not allowed inside the national park / 09 all my eco poems are so boring / 10 dinner for two / 11 the absence of a McChicken / 12 snapshot of New York on the 4th of November 2024 / 13 snapshot of Melbourne, the night after the death of the Queen / 14 i hate abecedarians / 15 dark matter / 16 a list poem but i have forgotten how numbers work / 17 everything is poetry, except poems, which are annoying / 18 no more prayer. i want to fight God / 19 how do you win a poetry slam

How do you laugh and hope in a world full of killing? The second album from award-winning comedian and poet Josh Cake dances on the border between laughter and grief. From Halloween decorations in New York to pharmacy signs in Casablanca, Cake mourns friends and strangers across four continents while raucously satirising money and power. From an American election to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, from climate collapse to genocide in Palestine, this collection connects today’s historical events with a razor-sharp focus on Cake’s own complicity as a working artist in the military-industrial complex: “success in poetry means funding drone strikes”. This album takes the quiet violence of everyday life and makes it loud, hilarious, and haunting.

☆☆☆☆☆ “a stunningly intelligent performer … bold, absurd, and committed” Red Kangaroo

☆☆☆☆☆ “Josh Cake weaves simple, universally recognisable objects into extraordinarily beautiful metaphors for the human condition” The Recruiting Officer

☆☆☆☆☆ “moves from a masterful display of meticulously timed hilarity to metaphors that bypass the brain and land straight in your tear glands” The Bullock

☆☆☆☆☆ “virtuosic in his comedic intelligence, his musical dexterity, and his control of an audience ... inspiring and sincere” The Weekly Beckett

Winner: Most Impactful Poet, 2024 and 2025 (Australian Enterprise Awards)

Winner: Poet of the Year 2025 (Livewire Global Awards)

01 ode to the clearing / 02 welcome to this thing to be forgotten / 03 how am i doing for time / 04 some people feel things all the time / 05 the first building we closed to rising sea levels / 06 the ashes / 07 getting used to it / 08 processed the fires, very chill about the pandemic / 09 at the supermarket, a real man / 10 a tiny bit of hope / 11 when can kids be trusted with boiling water / 12 good places to grieve / 13 did my friend die for nothing / 14 a boring city worker meets two artists / 15 i am tired of being pizza / 16 i'd rather die screaming / 17 jacarandas are good punctuation / 18 i write about hope

From observing masculinity at the supermarket to inhaling ash as fires sweep Australia, Cake finds the funny and the heart-breaking in this debut collection pulsing with wit, rage, and youthful delight. From “I will be soup” to “if we’re going to die, I’d rather die screaming”, you’ll find lines from this album tattooed on poetry fans around the world.

Physical CDs of this award-winning debut from Josh Cake sold out twice. It is now only available for digital download.