Meet the daydream believers about to own your summer Cardinals come from Cork, Ireland
For fans of Fontaines D.C., The Jesus & Mary Chain, The band are an eclectic gothic amalgam of shoegaze, Irish trad folk, and rock which incorporates 60s Wall of Sound elements for a punk- inflected noise that ‘wants to be warm pop.
The Cork five-piece released the one-off single ‘Get It’ last October, the follow-up to their self-titled debut EP in June, and now they are back with ‘Big Empty Heart’, which they have described as “a love song written from beyond the grave”. Frontman Euan Manning added: “It is a waltz as waltzes are the most romantic kinds of songs. Oskar Gudinovic, guitarist wrote the main melody on a Korg synthesiser when he was 12 and the song is built around that.”
The track taps into a gothic, Cure-like mood of introspection and rebellion, with Gudinovic’s guitar straining at the leash.
‘ Underpinning this trademark friction is a soft narrative arc which chases a stark vulnerability, ‘I’ve heard music and seen films and somehow felt less alone,’ says Euan, ‘If we can do that for someone else, then that’s cool in my books.’
Take The Strokes’ knack for a laissez-faire indie hook, a little bit of honey-drizzled shoegaze, some new wave grace, a whole lot of Irish spirit and chuck in an accordion for good measure and you’ve got the punky sun-kissed romance of this Cork five-piece: the Class Of 2025’s ‘most likely to do a Fontaines and get massive’.
Fontaines frontman Grian Chatten having recently described Cardinals as “one of my favourite new bands”.
Taken from the upcoming debut EP Cardinals – Out June 7th.
The Fat Angel Sings 