Cannonball described Cackles during a Natalie Perez interview on the eve of its release in 2017:

"I wrote most of Cackles in crowded, disorienting bus stations around Europe, and while the last track (“ZOB”) is the only song that actually takes place in a bus station, the whole EP could easily be a trip through the mind of someone waiting for a bus. And that’s going to be a very active mind.

I try to avoid judging my own work after it's finished. The whole experience of creating something is a real challenge, and it can be any combination of traumatizing and thrilling; once I've decided it's ready to be released, I don't think it's up to me to judge the quality of it. To me, each song on Cackles also has a distinct mood, and whether I enjoy them or not depends on my own mood. “Ailing in Leipzig” is a paranoid, apocalyptic song, inspired by some experiences I've had in the US and Europe in the past year. “Orbiting the Pacific” is a poem about the romanticization (orientalism) of what’s often called “the third world”, set to music. “Rabbit” is almost a love song. “ZOB” is hectic and absurd."

Full interview here: https://cannonballstatman.com/cackles-interview/