Cardinals share waltzing wonder ‘Big Empty Heart’
The release comes ahead of their biggest ever show supporting Fontaines D.C. at Finsbury Park.
Photo: Emilyn Cardona
Fans of Cork indie rockers Cardinals are not hard to find, with the likes of Fontaines D.C.’s Grian Chatten, actor Cillian Murphy and Belfast’s KNEECAP identifying themselves as being in the mix.
A year on from the release of their one-off single Get It and their self-titled debut EP – both of which saw the five-piece’s scuzzy punk sound, pop leanings and folk nods mark them out as a band like no other – Cardinals are back with their first new material of 2025.
Similar yet startingly new, Cardinals’ latest track Big Empty Heart is a dynamic ‘love song written from beyond the grave’. Featuring a main melody that guitarist Oskar Gudinovic wrote on a Korg synthesiser when he was 12, and the cyclical sounds of Finn Manning’s accordion, Big Empty Heart brings a new level of Cure-like introspection to Cardinals’ standard gothic landscape.
Muddied with dirty basslines and plenty of grungy guitars, the track is a dark, turbulent waltz that swirls until it spins out of control, not only leaving you breathless but also wanting more.
Lyrically rich in shanty-esque verses and evocative imagery, Big Empty Heart’s brooding tale of a dying love is another stunning example of the band’s poetry-inflected punk; a dizzying addition to Cardinals already swoon-worthy discography, and one that effortlessly proves big things are on the horizon for what could easily be Ireland’s next great guitar band.
Cardinals’ Big Empty Heart is out now via So Young Records.