The Cardinals
> 13th Note
> Thursday 1st Feb
It’s all or nothing for anthemic indie rockers The Cardinals, but before they take the charts by storm, Lick Magazine catches up with them at 13th Note to have a quick – although slightly cramped – post gig chat about fame, fortune and the wearing of Mancunian tracksuits.
“Manchester bands are people’s bands, aren’t they?” chuckles The Cardinals’ boyishly handsome and rather oddly named vocalist Seven, as he perches himself more comfortably inside the small alcove we’ve chosen as our interview spot. Taking into account the warm manner in which he has just greeted me moments before, I find it hard to disagree with his statement. Sporting pointed cowboy boots and the trademark Weller barnet, I’d honestly expected some arrogant prick, but instead find myself presented with a polite, softly-spoken young man who seems perfectly happy to discuss his dreams and past experiences.
Growing up in a Manchester suburb as the “only kids that weren’t wearing tracksuits,” The Cardinals were brought together by their mutual need to do something just a little bit different. Inspired by mammoth stadium rockers U2, the band write and perform pop rock anthems which - though on first listen appear reasonably conventional in structure and production - possess a starkly infectious edge which may just put them on the map as 2007’s Doves.
Having played with a then unknown Leeds collective called Kaiser Chiefs on the band’s last Scottish tour, Seven is no stranger to the quick pace at which the music industry races along:
“Seeing Kaiser Chiefs achieve such massive success is reassuring. They were just like us, they were just playing these kinds of gigs and no one really knew them. They were just starting to build something and it’s reassuring to know that if you have a dream and you work at it, it will come true.”
For the young singer, merely gaining cult popularity isn’t something that the band would be satisfied with, and he admits that for them, in terms of success, “it’s all or nothing.”
“We’ve always been into the greats, the massive bands like U2,” he explains. “We’ve always been inspired by bands at that level. And I think they get a bad press now because being popular has become unpopular. But I have nothing but respect for bands that’ve gotten that huge, because it’s an amazing fucking achievement. A lot of people are just too shit to be big so they say they don’t want to be. But in all reality, everyone wants that.”
And mass success, it seems, may not be far off for these Manchester lads. Watching them perform down in the cave a few minutes before, I’m struck by the band’s high quality songwriting and the confidence with which they fill the room. In particular, second single “Hold On” stands out as a huge, textural blend of soaring Edge-like guitar riffage and distinctive vocals, which gets the front row bopping along like a family of excitable field mice.
Even as we chat casually at the top of the stairs, several Note-goers breeze by, greeting Seven and expressing their delight at having just seen him sing his wee heart out.
Such warm reception is not something that the band has always had guaranteed, however:
“I’ve found the Scottish crowds to be great. They stay and listen. It’s always hard when you go to a strange town and no one knows you, and then you go to some places where no one even watches the bands. Whereas people here do, it’s really great.”
I’ve got a feeling there are bigger things in the pipeline for The Cardinals, but if all else fails, at least they know they’ve got an attentive crowd waiting for them up here.
The Cardinals’ second single “Hold On/Hello” is available for download through Tri-Tone Recordings on 18th March.
> Vicki Cole
> Thursday 1st Feb
It’s all or nothing for anthemic indie rockers The Cardinals, but before they take the charts by storm, Lick Magazine catches up with them at 13th Note to have a quick – although slightly cramped – post gig chat about fame, fortune and the wearing of Mancunian tracksuits.
“Manchester bands are people’s bands, aren’t they?” chuckles The Cardinals’ boyishly handsome and rather oddly named vocalist Seven, as he perches himself more comfortably inside the small alcove we’ve chosen as our interview spot. Taking into account the warm manner in which he has just greeted me moments before, I find it hard to disagree with his statement. Sporting pointed cowboy boots and the trademark Weller barnet, I’d honestly expected some arrogant prick, but instead find myself presented with a polite, softly-spoken young man who seems perfectly happy to discuss his dreams and past experiences.
Growing up in a Manchester suburb as the “only kids that weren’t wearing tracksuits,” The Cardinals were brought together by their mutual need to do something just a little bit different. Inspired by mammoth stadium rockers U2, the band write and perform pop rock anthems which - though on first listen appear reasonably conventional in structure and production - possess a starkly infectious edge which may just put them on the map as 2007’s Doves.
Having played with a then unknown Leeds collective called Kaiser Chiefs on the band’s last Scottish tour, Seven is no stranger to the quick pace at which the music industry races along:
“Seeing Kaiser Chiefs achieve such massive success is reassuring. They were just like us, they were just playing these kinds of gigs and no one really knew them. They were just starting to build something and it’s reassuring to know that if you have a dream and you work at it, it will come true.”
For the young singer, merely gaining cult popularity isn’t something that the band would be satisfied with, and he admits that for them, in terms of success, “it’s all or nothing.”
“We’ve always been into the greats, the massive bands like U2,” he explains. “We’ve always been inspired by bands at that level. And I think they get a bad press now because being popular has become unpopular. But I have nothing but respect for bands that’ve gotten that huge, because it’s an amazing fucking achievement. A lot of people are just too shit to be big so they say they don’t want to be. But in all reality, everyone wants that.”
And mass success, it seems, may not be far off for these Manchester lads. Watching them perform down in the cave a few minutes before, I’m struck by the band’s high quality songwriting and the confidence with which they fill the room. In particular, second single “Hold On” stands out as a huge, textural blend of soaring Edge-like guitar riffage and distinctive vocals, which gets the front row bopping along like a family of excitable field mice.
Even as we chat casually at the top of the stairs, several Note-goers breeze by, greeting Seven and expressing their delight at having just seen him sing his wee heart out.
Such warm reception is not something that the band has always had guaranteed, however:
“I’ve found the Scottish crowds to be great. They stay and listen. It’s always hard when you go to a strange town and no one knows you, and then you go to some places where no one even watches the bands. Whereas people here do, it’s really great.”
I’ve got a feeling there are bigger things in the pipeline for The Cardinals, but if all else fails, at least they know they’ve got an attentive crowd waiting for them up here.
The Cardinals’ second single “Hold On/Hello” is available for download through Tri-Tone Recordings on 18th March.
> Vicki Cole
