Introducing: Cavalier Attitude

If you like your punk with a side of heartbreak and a shot of chaos, Cavalier Attitude should be on your radar. Hailing from East Antrim, this four-piece is tearing through the Irish punk scene with a raw, high-octane sound that blends emo vulnerability with punchy, pop-punk hooks. Since their debut in 2021, they’ve gone from DIY upstarts to one of the most exciting bands to watch — racking up radio play, sold-out shows, and a growing wave of critical buzz.

Now, fresh off the release of their explosive debut album Heartbreak & Hangovers and a packed-out headline show in Belfast, Cavalier Attitude are louder, tighter, and more unapologetically themselves than ever. We caught up with the band to talk mosh pits, emotional meltdowns, and what it really means to scream your guts out into the void.

1. Your debut album Heartbreak & Hangovers feels like a raw, unfiltered snapshot of youth, chaos, and emotion—what were the core themes or personal experiences that shaped this record?

When we came up with the title Heartbreak & Hangovers, it instantly felt right. It tied everything together. The songs are shaped by failed relationships, lost friendships, and nights of overindulgence. All those messy, formative experiences woven into one. – Jordan

The funny thing was the album name came after all these songs! It’s an album that captures the essence of being in your 20’s, or maybe just what our 20’s were like. You’re growing, developing and finding your feet as an adult. Without these heartbreaks and hangover we wouldn’t have an album out! - Dan

2. You’ve been described as having “mid-2000s Kerrang vibes” and compared to bands like Modern Baseball—do you embrace that nostalgia, and how do you balance those influences with your own voice and message?

We definitely embrace nostalgia and wear our influences proudly, but we’re not chasing a retro sound or trying to make people feel a sense of nostalgia when they hear us. We just make music we love, rooted in our own experiences, and not limited to a particular sound. From the start, our mindset has been to avoid boxing ourselves into one genre. We just write what feels right at the moment. – Jordan

What I love about us as a group is the fact we draw influences from all spectrums of punk and rock. We all share key artists as influences but the scope of artist and sub genres we follow really is broad. That collection of influences comes together, and our sound is a result of that. We have never been described as one single genre and with every release we’re getting compared to someone we had never thought of (or heard of). – Dan 

3. Cavalier Attitude has always been rooted in DIY ethos and high-energy live shows—how does that spirit translate into the studio, and what was the process like bringing this album to life?

That DIY spirit definitely carries into the studio. We came in with demos for each track, but once we got going, we gave ourselves the space to experiment by trying different amps, pedals and tones, and letting the songs evolve. That creative freedom often led to results that went way beyond what we imagined. – Jordan

Studio days are my favourite types of day with the band. We come together with all our ideas and sit down and think how could we enhance what we have? Is there something missing from this? Can we add a pedal here? It’s a very experimental environment that pushes us to be as creative as possible. The result is something that we would never have even thought of before we stepped in. – Dan 

4. There’s a real emotional vulnerability in your lyrics, even when the music is tearing the roof off—how important is that honesty to your identity as a band?

Vulnerability and honesty are central to what we do and it’s always at the front of my mind when writing. The bands that I connect with most tend to be the ones that lay it all on the line. When you tell real stories and share real emotions it builds a connection with the listener. – Jordan

As a listener of music I relate and connect more to emotional, raw lyrics and songs. I think it’s definitely a big part of our identity as a band as we want to connect with our audience not just sonically but emotionally as well. – Dan 

5. You sold out your album launch show in Belfast just days after the release—what did that night mean to you, and how does it feel to see your local scene showing up so strongly?

That night was easily the best gig we’ve played. Seeing that room packed out and hearing people sing the words back was surreal. It felt like the perfect payoff for a year of writing, recording, and hoping people would connect with the songs. To have everyone show up like that meant so much to us. – Jordan

That night was the culmination of months of writing and recording but also the years we’ve been together as a band. As a band when you start out you think “we’d love to get a single out”, then it snowballs to an EP, then a headline show and the next step was to put an album out. I am so proud of how far we have come, and our album launch was the result of all our handwork and effort as a group. The gig will live long in my memory and the energy was just next level! Our hometown knows how to support local music! – Dan