🎧 Approved: Cardinals

Tracksuited, denim- and leather-clad, and hidden behind wrap-around sunglasses, Cardinals might look like they’ve walked straight out of Warhol’s factory in Midtown Manhattan, but their roots lie in the fishing village of Kinsale. 

The Cork five-piece channel a monochrome, windswept kind of nostalgia - equal parts shoegaze, Irish trad, and shadowy rock and roll romanticism.

Their eponymous debut EP was a gothic patchwork of shanty-leaning balladry and poetry-drenched punk - and now they return with their first release of 2025, ‘Big Empty Heart’. 

Recorded with Shrink at RAK Studios, the new single builds from a synth melody written by band member Oskar when he was just twelve.

“A love song written from beyond the grave”, frontman Euan Manning explains, “It’s a waltz, as waltzes are the most romantic kinds of songs”. 

You can catch them live this summer supporting Fontaines D.C. at Finsbury Park on 5 Jul.

🎧 Watch the video for ‘Big Empty Heart’ below