Just Cause is a self-described “labour of love” run by Cody DeFalco and Evan Welsh, who each have fingers in lots of metaphorical pies across the current independent music landscape. Back in the summer of 2024, they released a charity compilation, Just Cause Vol. 1, in aid of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. The collection drew on the pair’s vast network of friends and acted as both a showcase of contemporary talent and an opportunity to make some money for an incredibly important cause.
Fast forward a little under two years and Just Cause are at it again. Just Cause Vol. 2 takes the blueprint of the original and expands upon it. There are over double the number of contributing artists, with an impressive total of sixty three songs from all corners of our current musical moment. Many of the artists have featured on these very pages (some multiple times), including the likes of Ben Seretan, Caitlin Pasko, Erika Dohi, hemlock, Mal Devisa, Michael Cormier-O’Leary, Nico Hedley, Pleasure Systems and Sam Wenc. There’s such a mix of genres, feelings and styles that there truly is something for everyone, and the minimum donation of $10 is brilliant value in anyone’s book.
But of course the compilation is about more than music. It is again raising money for another vital cause. All proceeds of Just Cause Vol. 2 go to the Immigrant Defense Project, who work tirelessly to fight the mass imprisonment and deportation of immigrants in the US. As their mission statement puts it: “IDP has remained steadfast in fighting for fairness and justice for all immigrants caught at the intersection of the racially biased U.S. criminal and immigration systems. IDP fights to end the current era of unprecedented mass criminalization, detention and deportation through a multipronged strategy including advocacy, litigation, legal advice and training, community defense, grassroots alliances, and strategic communications.”
Just Cause Vol. 2 is out now and available via Bandcamp.
Cover art by Aldrin Regina Valdez