Slowly smouldering, oozing with a quality that, if bottled, would make you a millionaire, Midnight At The Valencia sees South Wales trio Cardinal Black elevate their game to a level which is prohibitive to all but the cream of the crop.
Cardinal Black – Midnight At The Valencia
Release Date: 23 May 2025
Words: Paul Hutchings
It is their time. The gentle but unrelenting progress that singer Tom Hollister, guitarist Chris Buck and drummer Adam Roberts have made under the name Cardinal Black is substantial. Shortly after embarking on a tour of North America, which is already seeing sold-out signs across the board, they will return to play their biggest shows to date in the autumn.
Their history is well chronicled, from the humble roots of the Tom Hollister Trio and Buck & Evans, via YouTube fame for Buck, the trio reunited around the time of the pandemic and thousands of small venues where they sweated their dues.
This is a band who are worthy of every plaudit they receive. 
If January Came Close was a collection of songs that had been around for, in some cases, years, then Midnight At The Valencia is the cohesive follow-up that we as fans demanded
Cardinal Black have crafted these songs from thousands of hours on the road, from dive bars to The Royal Albert Hall, from festival headline shows and smaller venues like Le Pub in Newport, The Patriot in Crumlin and a triumphant and poignant celebration of Chris’s father at Newbridge Memorial.
Midnight At The Valencia takes time to soak in. It is instant in many respects, but there is a depth to it that demands repeated plays. For fans of the band, there are some familiar songs present. Holding My Breath, the elegant tribute to Buck Snr that is Push/Pull and Your Spark (Blows Me To Pieces) are long established in the band’s setlist.
But here, they form part of the collection. More than just songs, they are a cohesive statement of the band’s progression, their development and their ability to craft songs that resonate on every level.
“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.”
He is right. Midnight At The Valencia is a truly fabulous release. Ride Home and Falling are the perfect tempo for the opening duo before the slower-paced Racing Cars sees Hollister take centre stage with his rich and warm vocals.
The production is sharp, but with the edges warmed. It is not over polished, a testament to the band’s desire to use analogue equipment and to producer Cyrill Camenzind.
According to the band, each song serves as a “snapshot” of the highs and lows they have endured, forming the complete picture that traverses love, loss, grief, disappointment and hope. Whilst they were somewhat dismissive of the personal elements that provided the themes through the album when I spoke to them, it is evident that there is plenty of reflection which has been poured into each song.
They take other themes as well. Opener Ride Home tells of a boy who goes to war and returns a man, whilst Morning Light tackles rebuilding a life post-divorce. Keep On Running, perhaps the most instant song on the album on first listen takes the view of a stalker and is based on a friend of Hollister’s experiences from university. The twist on the situation makes the song so intriguing.
This is an album that it is impossible to tire of listening to. The sum of the parts is truly evidenced here, with the thick Hammond keys, Robert’s solid drumming and, of course, Buck’s sublime guitar work combined with Hollister’s vocals. There is a magical tempo that allows this release to ebb and flow.
Morning Light, Push/Pull and the tender ode to Hollister’s daughter Adeline all provide time and space to sit back and allow the music to wash over you. It is delicate, perfectly created and able to make you smile or weep in equal measure.
I could go on. But as many superlatives as I throw at this album, the real test is in the listening. There is an emotional element to all the band’s songs, but I defy anyone not to catch their breath as Hollister sings to his wife on the closing ballad, Your Spark. It is a song that provides the words that so many of us would like to express but just do not know how.
South Wales is flying in the rock world. Those Damn Crows have reached the Number One spot. King Kraken are getting big airplay and there are hundreds of other bands across a multitude of genres making noise.
I would not bet against a trio mere miles down the road from me pushing hard on those same doors in the next few months.
Cardinal Black will release their new album, Midnight At The Valencia, on 23 May via Thirty Tigers. You can read our extensive interview with Chris Buck & Tom Hollister – Part One is here and Part Two is here. The Midnight At The Valencia album review is here.
There are a number of in-store dates in May, a headline North America tour in August, returning to the UK in October and Europe in November and December.
Cardinal Black Tour Tickets are available from https://www.thecardinalblack.com/tourdates.
Midnight At The Valencia will be available in neon pink and neon orange vinyl formats, alongside standard CD and digital editions, and can be pre-ordered from https://orcd.co/midnightatthevalencia-eu.
Cardinal Black – In-Stores:
May
24th – CARDIFF, HMV
25th – BRISTOL, Rough Trade
26th – LONDON, Lower Third w/ Rough Trade
27th – BURY, Wax n Beans
28th – NEWCASTLE, Cluny 2 w/ Reflex
29th – GLASGOW, Strip Joint
North American Headline Tour
August
6th – NEW YORK, Mercury Lounge (SOLD OUT)
8th – TORONTO, CA – The Drake Hotel Underground (SOLD OUT)
9th – ONTARIO, CA, Kitchener Blues Festival
12th – CHICAGO, Schuba’s (SOLD OUT)
14th – MINNEAPOLIS, 7th Street Entry (SOLD OUT)
16th – OMAHA, Playing with Fire
18th – NASHVILLE, Basement East
19th – ATLANTA, Vinyl at Center Stage (SOLD OUT)
21st – AUSTIN, Antone’s (SOLD OUT)
23rd – PHOENIX, Rebel Lounge
26th – LOS ANGELES, Troubadour
29th – SAN FRANCISCO, The Independent
30th – CAMINO, Concert Series @ Delfino Farms
European Tour
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
