Cardinal Black, the Welsh-formed trio of frontman Tom Hollister, guitarist Chris Buck, and drummer Adam Roberts – take their next monumental step with the announcement of their new album, Midnight At The Valencia – out May 23rd on Thirty Tigers.
Alongside the album news, the band have unveiled their brand new single, ‘Keep On Running’, – a swampy, menacing blues sound, full of haunting whistles and scuzzy riffs that crackle like lightning. Hollister was inspired by a friend he knew at university who was pursued by a stalker – here he takes on the role of the villain. “It’s a darker track, absolutely, but unfortunately I think it will also be very relatable for a lot of our fans,”
The resplendent Midnight At The Valencia is a testament to the band’s self-carved path, from their humble beginnings in university dive bars to sharing stages with legends like Peter Frampton, at his sold-out Royal Albert Hall show, as well as Joe Bonnamassa & Myles Kennedy. Produced by Cyrill Camenzind (James Morrison, Alain Clark) at Powerplay Studios in Zurich, the album is a rich tapestry of love, loss, grief, and hope, brought to life by vintage analogue equipment and the band’s undeniable chemistry.
With Midnight At The Valencia, the band set out to create a record that represented their “10,000 hours” of work, having played in just about every backwater dive bar and neon-soaked club they’d come across. “It’s a long, shared history we have,” Hollister says. “We feel like we’ve paid our dues, and this album is the culmination of all that effort.”
Now, Cardinal Black have honed their sound into a powerful, genre-defying statement. From the haunting introspection of ‘Push/Pull’, written in the wake of Buck’s father’s passing, to the Americana-infused uplift of ‘Need More Time’, the album is a masterclass in storytelling and musicianship. Hollister’s evocative lyrics and Buck’s virtuosic guitar work shine throughout, culminating in the rousing closer, ‘Your Spark’, a heartfelt tribute to Hollister’s wife
UK & EU TOUR DATES
October
2nd – NOTTINGHAM, Rock City
3rd – MANCHESTER, Academy 2
9th – DUBLIN, Opium
10th – BELFAST, Limelight
11th – GLASGOW, The Garage
16th – WOLVERHAMPTON, KK’s Steel Mill
17th – LEEDS, Stylus
19th – NEWCASTLE, Wylam Brewery
23rd – BRISTOL, SWX
24th – SOUTHAMPTON, Engine Rooms
28th – BRIGHTON, Concorde 2
29th – CAMBRIDGE, Junction
30th – LONDON, KOKO
November
20th – AMSTERDAM, Bitterzoet
23rd – COLOGNE, Stollwerck
24th – HAMBURG, Bahnhof Pauli
25th – BERLIN, Privatclub
27th – MUNICH, Backstage Club
28th – VIENNA, Flex
December
1st – ZÜRICH, Papiersaal
2nd – FRANKFURT, Brotfabrik
6th – PARIS, Supersonic Club
Tickets will go on sale HERE – Friday, March 15th @ 4.00pm.
The album will be available in neon pink and neon orange vinyl formats, alongside standard CD and digital editions, available for pre-order here.
Photo Credit: Mark Hilton